LEGAL CANNABIS WILL PROTECT KIDS

NOT only should medical cannabis be available to patients in need, but
adult recreational use should also be regulated.

Leaving the distribution of popular recreational drugs in the hands of
organised crime puts children at great risk. Unlike legitimate businesses
that sell liquor, illegal drug dealers working the black market do not ID
for age, but they do push profitable, addictive drugs like heroin when
given the chance.

Sensible regulation is needed to undermine the black market and restrict
access to drugs. Cannabis is the most popular illicit drug. Compared with
legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco, cannabis is relatively harmless. Yet
cannabis prohibition is deadly. While there is nothing inherent in cannabis
that compels users to try harder drugs, its black market status puts users
in contact with criminals who push them. As long as cannabis remains
illegal, the criminal distribution network will ensure that children sample
every toxic poison concocted by drug pushers.

Replacing cannabis prohibition with regulation would do a better job
protecting children than the failed drug war.

Robert Sharpe, MPA,
Programme Officer,
Lindesmith Drug Policy Foundation,
4455 Connecticut Avenue,
Washington, DC, USA.