EVALUATE DRUG POLICIES

I'm writing about the story Cannabis suspects pack jails.

It seems to me that in order to properly evaluate your nation's drug
policies, you need to compare and contrast the drug policies of other
nations with substantially different drug policies.I suggest that you
use the United States and the Czech Republic for your comparison.

In the Czech Republic citizens can legally use, possess, grow, sell
or purchase small quantities of cannabis.

In the United States, many otherwise law-abiding citizens are locked
in prison cages for possessing, growing or selling various amounts of cannabis.

The Czech overall drug arrest rate is 1 per 100,000 population. The
US overall drug arrest rate is 585 per 100,000 population. The Czech
robbery rate is 2 per 100,000 population. The US robbery rate is
160.2 per 100,000 population, according to the FBI.

According to our drug war cheerleaders, tolerant cannabis laws cause
people to use other, much more dangerous drugs like methamphetamine
and heroin. This doesn't happen in the Czech Republic. Why not?

Could it be that when people can legally obtain cannabis at an
affordable price, they tend not to use or desire any other recreational drugs?

Could it be that cannabis legalisation actually creates a roadblock
to hard drug use -- not a gateway?

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Arizona U. S. A.