Pubdate: Tue, 05 Feb 2008 Source: Pipe Dream (NY Edu) Copyright: 2008sPipe Dream Contact: http://www.bupipedream.com/pipeline_web/contact.php Website: http://www.bupipedream.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4584 Author: Robert Sharpe Note: Title by newshawk TAXING MARIJUANA NOT A BAD IDEA To the Editor: Taxing marijuana wouldn't be a bad idea, providing sales were regulated and could be taxed. New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer can't rely on organized crime to submit tax returns for his budget shortfall plan. There is a big difference between condoning marijuana use and protecting children from drugs. Decriminalization acknowledges the social reality of marijuana and frees users from the stigma of life-shattering criminal records. What's really needed is a regulated market with age controls. Separating the hard and soft drug markets is critical. As long as marijuana distribution is controlled by organized crime, marijuana consumers will continue to come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like methamphetamine. This "gateway" is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy. Given that marijuana is arguably safer than legal alcohol -- the plant has never been shown to cause an overdose death -- it makes no sense to waste tax dollars on failed policies that finance organized crime and facilitate the use of hard drugs. Students who want to help end the intergenerational culture war otherwise known as the war on some drugs should contact Students for Sensible Drug Policy at SchoolsNotPrisons.com. Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, D.C. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom