DRUG WAR 'FAILS MISERABLY'

The writer of the May 23rd letter titled "Hard to Believe" lamented the
damage caused by drugs and shared a personal story of a boy who got on
drugs in high school. When it comes to protecting children the drug war
fails miserably. Unlike legitimate businesses that sell alcohol, illegal
drug dealers do not ID for age, but they do push addictive drugs like
heroin when given the chance.

As the most popular illicit drug, marijuana provides the black market
contacts that introduce users to harder drugs. This "gateway" is the direct
result of a fundamentally flawed policy. Sensible regulation is desperately
needed to undermine the thriving black market.

In Europe, the Netherlands has successfully reduced overall drug use by
replacing marijuana prohibition with regulation. Dutch rates of drug use
are significantly lower than U.S. rates in every category. Separating the
hard and soft drug markets and establishing age controls for marijuana has
proven more effective than zero tolerance.

If health outcomes determined U.S. drug laws instead of cultural norms
marijuana would be legal. Whereas alcohol poisoning kills thousands
annually, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death. Given
that marijuana is relatively harmless, it makes no sense to waste tax
dollars on flawed policies that finance organized crime and facilitate the
use of addictive drugs.

Closing the gateway to hard drugs and establishing strict age controls is
critical. Politicians need to stop worrying about the message drug policy
reform sends to children and start thinking about the children themselves.
Taxing and regulating marijuana is a cost-effective alternative to spending
tens of billions annually on a failed drug war.

Robert Sharpe, M.P.A.

The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation