WE NEED TO GET SMART ABOUT MARIJUANA

As a parent helping two children navigate their teen years, and as a
travel writer who has seen firsthand how Europe deals with its drug
problem, I've thought a lot about U.S. drug policy -- particularly
our criminalization of marijuana.

Europe, like the U.S., is dealing with a persistent drug-abuse
problem. But unlike us, Europe, which treats drug abuse primarily as
a public health issue rather than a criminal issue, measures the
success of its drug policy in terms of pragmatic harm reduction.

Europeans seek a cure that isn't more costly than the problem. While
the U.S. spends its tax dollars on police, courts and prisons, Europe
fights drug abuse by funding doctors, counselors and clinics.
European Union policymakers estimate that for each euro invested in
drug education and counseling, they save 15 euros in police and
health costs. Similar estimates have been made for U.S. health-based
approaches by the Rand Corp. and others.

While Europeans are as firmly opposed to hard drugs as we are, the
difference in how they approach marijuana is striking. Take the
Netherlands, with its famously liberal marijuana laws. On my last
trip to Amsterdam, I visited a "coffee shop" -- a cafe that openly
and legally sells marijuana to people over 18. I sat and observed the
very local, almost quaint scene: Neighbors were chatting. An older
couple (who apparently didn't enjoy the trendy ambience) parked their
bikes and dropped in for a baggie to go. An underage customer was
shooed away. Then a police officer showed up -- but only to post a
warning about the latest danger from chemical drugs on the streets.

Some concerned U.S. parents are comforted by the illusion of control
created by our complete prohibition of marijuana. But the policy
seems to be backfiring: Their kids say it's easier to buy marijuana
than tobacco or alcohol. (You don't get carded when you buy something
illegally.) Meanwhile, Dutch parents say their approach not only
protects their younger children, but also helps insulate teens over
18 from street pushers trying to get them hooked on more addictive
(and profitable) hard drugs.

After a decade of regulating marijuana, Dutch anti-drug abuse
professionals agree there has been no significant increase in pot
smoking among young people, and that overall cannabis use has
increased only slightly. European and U.S. government statistics show
per-capita consumption of marijuana for most of Europe (including the
Netherlands) is about half that of the U.S., despite the criminal
consequences facing American pot smokers.

When it comes to marijuana, European leaders understand that a
society must choose: Tolerate alternative lifestyles or build more
prisons. They've made their choice. We're still building more prisons.

According to Forbes magazine, 25 million Americans currently use
marijuana (federal statistics indicate that one in three Americans
has used marijuana at some point), which makes it a $113 billion
untaxed industry in our country. The FBI reports that about 40
percent of the roughly 1.8 million annual drug arrests in the U.S.
are for marijuana -- the majority (89 percent) for simple possession.

Rather than act as a deterrent, criminalization of marijuana drains
precious resources, clogs our legal system and distracts law
enforcement attention from more pressing safety concerns.

But things are changing. For example, in Seattle, Initiative 75,
which makes adult marijuana use the lowest law enforcement priority
for local cops, was recently reviewed after four years in action. The
results clearly show that during that period, marijuana use didn't
measurably increase, and street crime associated with drugs actually went down.

More and more U.S. parents, lawyers, police, judges and even travel
writers feel it's time for a change. Obviously, like Europeans, we
don't want anyone to harm themselves or others by misusing marijuana.
We simply believe that regulating and taxing what many consider a
harmless vice is smarter than outlawing it.

Like my European friends, I believe we can adopt a pragmatic policy
toward marijuana, with a focus on harm reduction and public health,
rather than tough-talking but counterproductive criminalization. The
time has come to have an honest discussion about our marijuana laws
and their effectiveness. We need to find a policy that is neither
"hard on drugs" nor "soft on drugs" -- but smart on drugs.