DEA'S RAID OF COLORADO MARIJUANA GROWER

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration certainly seems intent on
subsidizing organized crime. Colorado's medical marijuana law allows
patients to purchase marijuana of known quality from dispensaries that
generate tax revenue. Mexican drug cartels are no doubt thrilled with
the DEA's efforts to shut it all down. Does helping organized crime
maintain a monopoly on marijuana distribution somehow benefit taxpayers?

Let's not kid ourselves and pretend that marijuana prohibition does
anything other than provide artificial price supports for cartels. The
U.S. has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where
marijuana is legally available. Eliminating a medical marijuana
cottage industry only to have it replaced by organized crime groups
that sell cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine is not a good thing.

When does President Obama intend to live up to his campaign promise to
stop the DEA raids?

Robert Sharpe, Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy,
Washington, D.C.