END THE WAR ON POT

Regarding Tony Norman's July 13 column ("Legalized Pot? Like Getting
Bonged in the Head"):

The drug war is largely a war on marijuana smokers. In 2008, there
were 847,863 marijuana arrests in the United States, 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 United States 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 distribution, marijuana consumers
will come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like cocaine and
heroin. This "gateway" is a direct result of marijuana
prohibition.

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