MARIJUANA BAN ISN'T WORKING

Regarding Dora Dixie and Pete Bensinger's June 2nd op-ed, if health
outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana
would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to
cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of
tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are
inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents.

The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican
immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the
American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires
homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best.

Marijuana prohibition has failed miserably as a deterrent. The U.S.
has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where
marijuana is legally available to adults over 18. The only clear
winners in the war on marijuana are drug cartels and shameless
tough-on-drugs politicians who've built careers confusing the drug
war's collateral damage with a relatively harmless plant.

Robert Sharpe

Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.