Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1153/a08.html

LEGALIZING MARIJUANA WOULD HELP OUR NATION IN THE FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS

I'm not surprised to read that drugs are readily available in
Pittsburgh area schools ("Schools Rife With Drugs," Aug. 11). The drug
war fails miserably at its primary mandate: protecting children from
drugs.

According to the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia
University, teen-agers report that marijuana is easier to obtain than
beer. Such is the nature of the black market. Drug dealers don't ID for
age. But they do push the more profitable, addictive drugs when given
the chance.

While there is nothing inherent in marijuana that compels users to try
drugs like heroin, its black-market status puts users in contact with
criminals who push them. Currently, drug policy is effectively a
gateway policy.

The drug war is part of a larger cultural war that should have ended
decades ago. It's putting America's children in harm's way. Rather than
continue to waste taxes on a futile effort that does little other than
enrich organized crime, marijuana should be legalized for adults, with
the tax windfall used for drug education programs aimed at reducing
demand.

Such regulation is desperately needed -- the so-called controlled
substances sold on the black market are completely out of control. This
proposed harm-reduction shift may "send the wrong message" to children,
but I like to think that the children themselves are more important
than the message.

ROBERT SHARPE, Member, Students for a Sensible Drug Policy,
George Washington University Washington, D.C.