ADOPT DIFFERENT STRATEGY TO COMBAT POT USE

It was a surprise to read there is "no way scientifically" to settle
the question of whether marijuana is a "gateway drug" that causes
hard-drug addiction.

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine concluded, "There is no evidence
that marijuana serves as a steppingstone on the basis of its
particular physiological effect." Two just-published studies, one from
the University of Pittsburgh and one from Australia, reinforced that
conclusion.

If there is a "gateway," it is the illicit drug market. And there is a
way to close that gateway. In the Netherlands, adults are allowed to
possess and buy small amounts of marijuana from regulated businesses
that are strictly forbidden from handling hard drugs.

The result: Dutch marijuana use rates are somewhat lower than the
United States, while Dutch rates of hard drug use are dramatically
lower, with rates of heroin, cocaine and speed use running at about
one third of U.S. levels.

We can break the gateway, too, by taxing and regulating marijuana as
we do alcohol.

Bruce Mirken

Director of Communications

Marijuana Policy Project

Washington