Marijuana

FIGHT TO KEEP DRUG ILLEGAL IS TRUE GATEWAY TO MORE CRIME

Regarding your Dec. 13 editorial, not only should medical marijuana
be made available to patients in need, but also adult recreational
use should be legally 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.

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 a 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

Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy, www.csdp.org