CRIMINALIZING MARIJUANA ONLY HURTS HONEST CITIZENS

To the Editor:

Marijuana prohibition has done little other than burden millions of
otherwise law-abiding citizens with criminal records.

A University of Michigan study reports that lifetime use of marijuana
is higher in the U.S. than in any European country, yet America is one
of the few Western countries that uses its criminal justice system to
punish citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis.

Unlike alcohol, marijuana has not been shown to cause an overdose
death and does not share the addictive properties of tobacco.

The drug war's distortion of immutable laws of supply and demand make
an easily grown weed worth its weight in gold.

The only clear winners in the war on marijuana are drug cartels and
shameless tough-on-drugs politicians who've built careers confusing
drug prohibition's collateral damage with a relatively harmless plant.

Robert Sharpe

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy