A WAR ON MARIJUANA SMOKERS

Re "Effort to legalize marijuana bad news in U.S." (Op-ed article, Oct. 15):

The drug war is largely a war on marijuana smokers. In 2009, there
were 858,405 marijuana arrests in the United States, almost 90
percent of them 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 a lower
rate 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
methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. This "gateway" is a direct
result of marijuana prohibition.

Robert Sharpe

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.