BUSTED PHELPS HAS PLENTY OF COMPANY

Olympian Michael Phelps is in good company. The list of professional
athletes caught using marijuana is long. Could it be that drug
warriors have been lying about marijuana's health impact? They've
definitely been lying about the deterrent value of marijuana
prohibition.

The United States has higher rates of marijuana use than the
Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available to adults over the
age of 18.

Marijuana prohibition is built on lies, beginning with the reefer
madness myths of the 1930s and continuing to this day with government
anti-drug propaganda masquerading as science.

As an admitted former pot smoker, President Barack Obama no doubt
knows the truth about marijuana. Truthfully, marijuana is easily the
least harmful recreational drug, legal or otherwise. If health
outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana
would be legal.

The question is, will Obama bring change or will he continue to
subsidize the prejudices of culture warriors?

Robert Sharpe

Policy analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.