Pubdate: Tue, 19 Feb 2013
Source: Steamboat Today, The (CO)
Copyright: 2013 The Steamboat Pilot & Today
Contact: http://www.steamboattoday.com/submit/letters/
Website: http://www.steamboattoday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1549
Author: Robert Sharpe
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n080/a03.html

POT PROHIBITION FAILS

In response to Rob Douglas' Feb. 15 column "Reefer madness":

The people of Colorado and Washington state are way ahead of the 
politicians in Washington, D.C. If the goal of marijuana prohibition 
is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a grand success. 
The drug war distorts supply-and-demand dynamics so that big money 
grows on little trees. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to 
deter use, prohibition is a catastrophic failure. The United States 
has double the rate of use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is 
legally available.

The criminalization of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has 
no basis in science. The war on marijuana consumers is a failed 
cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based public health campaign. 
This country no longer can afford to subsidize the prejudices of 
culture warriors. Not just in Colorado but throughout the nation, 
it's time to stop the arrests and instead tax legal marijuana.

Robert Sharpe

Policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom