PROHIBITION MORE HARMFUL THAN THE DRUG

Marijuana prohibition is a complete failure. The U.S. has higher
rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is
legally available to adults over 18. This failure is not for lack of
trying. There were 872,720 marijuana arrests in 2007, the vast
majority for simple possession. If health outcomes determined drug
laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. As an
admitted former pot smoker, President Obama no doubt knows that
marijuana is relatively harmless. Will Obama bring change to
marijuana laws? There is a strong public health rationale for doing
so. Marijuana prohibition opens a gateway to hard drugs. As long as
organized crime controls marijuana distribution, consumers will
continue to come into contact with addictive drugs like
methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. Marijuana may be relatively
harmless, but marijuana prohibition is deadly.

Robert Sharpe

Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, DC