PROHIBITION ON POT

About your Sept. 22 editorial regarding San Diego's
medicinal-pot regulation: Not only should medical marijuana be made
available to patients in need, but, also, adult recreational use
should be regulated. Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition
have given rise to a youth-oriented black market. Illegal drug dealers
don't ID for age, but they do recruit minors immune to adult
sentences. So much for protecting the children.

Throwing more money at the problem is no solution. Attempts to limit
the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only
increase the profitability of drug trafficking.

For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads
desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate
habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime.

Taxing and regulating marijuana, the most popular illicit drug, is a
cost-effective alternative to never-ending drug war. As long as
marijuana distribution is controlled by organized crime, consumers
will continue to come into contact with hard drugs like
methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. This "gateway" is a direct result
of marijuana prohibition.

Robert Sharpe, Common Sense for Drug Policy