OUR WAR ON POT SMOKERS

Regarding your Nov. 24 editorial:

The drug war is largely a war on marijuana smokers. In 2008, there
were 847,863 marijuana arrests in the U.S., almost 90 percent for
simple possession.

At a time when state and local governments are laying off police,
firefighters and teachers, this country continues to spend enormous
public resources criminalizing Americans who prefer marijuana to
martinis. The end result of this ongoing culture war is not
necessarily lower rates of use.

The U.S. has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where
marijuana is legally available. Decriminalization is a long overdue
step in the right direction. Taxing and regulating marijuana would
render the drug war obsolete. As long as organized crime controls
marijuana distribution, consumers will continue to come into contact
with sellers of hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. This "gateway" is
a direct result of marijuana prohibition.

Robert Sharpe, Arlington, Va.