DON'T STOP WITH MEDICINAL MARIJUANA

To the editor:

Kudos to federal Health Minister Allan Rock for moving forward on
medical marijuana regulation. Not only should medical marijuana be
made available to patients in need, but adult recreational use should
be regulated as well.

The reason for this is simple: leaving the distribution of popular
recreational drugs in the hands of organized crime puts children at
great risk. Illegal drug dealers don't ID for age, making it easier
for kids to buy pot than beer.

In Europe, the Netherlands has successfully reduced overall drug use
by replacing marijuana prohibition with regulation. Separating the
hard and soft drug markets and establishing age controls for marijuana
has proven more effective than zero tolerance.

As the most popular illicit drug in Canada, marijuana provides the
black market contacts that introduce users to drugs like heroin. This
"gateway" is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy.

Given that marijuana is arguably safer than legal alcohol, it makes no
sense to waste tax dollars on failed drug policies that finance
organized crime and needlessly expose children to dangerous drugs.

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

Robert Sharpe,
Washington, D.C.