REGULATED MARIJUANA MARKET IS CRITICAL

Lost in the debate over marijuana is the ugly truth behind marijuana
prohibition. North America's marijuana laws are based on culture and
xenophobia, not science.

The first marijuana laws were a racist reaction to Mexican
immigration during the early 1900s. Writing under the pen name Janey
Canuck, Emily Murphy warned Canadians about the dreaded reefer and
its association with non-white immigrants.

The sensationalist journalism of William Randolph Hearst led to its
criminalization in the United States. Dire warnings that marijuana
inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best.

White North Americans did not even begin to smoke marijuana until a
soon-to-be entrenched government bureaucracy began funding
propaganda. When threatened, the drug war gravy train predictably
decries the "message" that drug policy reform sends to children.
There is a big difference between condoning marijuana use and
protecting children from drugs.

Decriminalization acknowledges the social reality of marijuana and
frees users from the stigma of criminal records.

What's really needed is a regulated market with age controls.
Separating the hard and soft drug markets is critical. As long as
marijuana distribution remains in the hands of organized crime,
consumers will continue to come into contact with addictive drugs
such as cocaine and heroin.

This "gateway" is a direct result of marijuana prohibition.

Drug policy reform may send the wrong message to children, but I like
to think the children are more important than the message.

ROBERT SHARPE

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