DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA TO END DRUG WAR

Regarding Travis Kelly's July 1 column, 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 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 U.S. 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, MPA Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C.