REEFER MADNESS

Lost in the medical marijuana debate [see "Spliffed," 4/5] is the
ugly truth behind marijuana prohibition. If health outcomes
determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, alcohol would be
illegal and marijuana would not. Whites did not even begin smoking
pot until a soon-to-be entrenched government bureaucracy began
funding reefer madness propaganda. These days marijuana is confused
with '60s counterculture by Americans who would like to turn the
clock back to the 1950s. This intergenerational culture war does far
more harm than marijuana. Drug dealers do not ID for age, making it
easier for teenagers to buy illicit drugs than beer. As the most
popular illicit drug, marijuana provides the black market contacts
that introduce users to hard 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 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. Opportunistic "tough
on drugs" politicians no doubt feel otherwise.

Robert Sharpe, M.P.A.

Washington, D.C.