DRUG STRATEGY OUTDATED

Regarding the May 6 editorial on the use of drug-sniffing dogs in schools,
alcohol kills more students every year than all illegal drugs combined.

The second most popular recreational drug, tobacco, is one of the most
addictive substances known to man. Yet the drug dogs will primarily target
marijuana, the third most popular recreational drug and arguably the safest.

Marijuana is not physically addictive and has never been shown to cause an
overdose death. If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural
norms, marijuana would be legal.

Unfortunately, the marijuana plant continues to be confused with '60s
counterculture by those who would like to turn the clock back to the 1950s.
This intergenerational culture war does far more harm than marijuana.

As the most popular illegal drug, marijuana provides the black market
contacts that introduce teen-agers to hard drugs like heroin. This
"gateway" is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy. The drug
war makes it easier for kids to buy pot than beer; drug dealers don't ID
for age. 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. Drug policy reform
may send the wrong message to children, but I like to think the children
are more important than the message. Opportunistic "tough on drugs"
politicians would no doubt disagree.

Robert Sharpe
Program Officer
The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation
Washington, D.C.