Pubdate: Fri, 02 Apr 2010
Source: Telegraph-Journal (Saint John, CN NK)
Copyright: 2010 Brunswick News Inc.
Contact: http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/onsite.php?page=contact
Website: http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2878
Page: A6
Author: Robert Sharpe

REGULATED MARIJUANA MARKET IS CRITICAL

Lost in the debate over marijuana is the ugly truth behind marijuana 
prohibition. North America's marijuana laws are based on culture and 
xenophobia, not science.

The first marijuana laws were a racist reaction to Mexican 
immigration during the early 1900s. Writing under the pen name Janey 
Canuck, Emily Murphy warned Canadians about the dreaded reefer and 
its association with non-white immigrants.

The sensationalist journalism of William Randolph Hearst led to its 
criminalization in the United States. Dire warnings that marijuana 
inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best.

White North Americans did not even begin to smoke marijuana until a 
soon-to-be entrenched government bureaucracy began funding 
propaganda. When threatened, the drug war gravy train predictably 
decries the "message" that drug policy reform sends to children. 
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 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 remains in the hands of organized crime, 
consumers will continue to come into contact with addictive drugs 
such as cocaine and heroin.

This "gateway" is a direct result of marijuana prohibition.

Drug policy reform may send the wrong message to children, but I like 
to think the children are more important than the message.

ROBERT SHARPE

Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, D.C.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart