MARIJUANA PROHIBITION IS DEADLY

Editor: Detective Jackie Albers was quoted in a May 21 article as stating
"when we have a rash of burglaries, the reason for the burglaries is that
person needs money to buy dope." So-called drug-related crime is in fact
prohibition-related. Forcibly limiting the supply of illegal drugs while
demand remains constant only increases the profitability of drug
trafficking. In terms of addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street
prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed
desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime.

The burden on taxpayers grows every year as ever more drug offenders are
imprisoned. America now has the highest incarceration rate in the world,
yet drug use continues unabated as new dealers immediately step in to reap
inflated illicit market profits. Let's not kid ourselves about protecting
children. Illegal drug dealers don't ID for age, but they do recruit minors
immune to adult sentences.

Taxing and regulating marijuana, the most popular illicit drug, is a
cost-effective alternative to never-ending drug war. There is a big
difference between condoning marijuana use and protecting children from
drugs. Decriminalization acknowledges the social reality of marijuana use
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. Marijuana may be
relatively harmless compared to alcohol - pot has never been shown to cause
an overdose death - but marijuana prohibition is deadly. As long as
marijuana distribution remains in the hands of organized crime, consumers
will continue to come into contact with hard drugs like cocaine. Drug
policy reform may send the wrong message to children, but I like to think
the children themselves are more important than the message. Tough-on-drugs
politicians would no doubt disagree.

Robert Sharpe, M.P.A.

Program Officer, Drug Policy Alliance, Washington, D.C.