DECRIMINALIZATION OF MARIJUANA BEST MOVE

Regarding Maureen Martin's Wednesday guest column, the Waukesha
County Board's vote to treat possession of marijuana by first-time
offenders as a ticketed offense rather than a crime is a step in the
right direction.

There is a big difference between condoning marijuana use and
protecting children from drugs. Decriminalization acknowledges the
social reality of marijuana use and frees users from the stigma of
life-shattering criminal records. What's really needed is a regulated
market with age controls.

Separating the hard and soft drug markets is critical. As long as
marijuana distribution is controlled by organized crime, marijuana
consumers will continue to come into contact with sellers of hard
drugs like methamphetamine. This "gateway" is the direct result of a
fundamentally flawed policy.

Given that marijuana is arguably safer than legal alcohol -- the
plant has never been shown to cause an overdose death -- it makes no
sense to waste tax dollars on failed policies that finance organized
crime and facilitate the use of hard drugs. Drug policy reform may
send the wrong message to children, but I like to think the children
are more important than the message.

- -- Robert Sharpe, policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy,
Washington, D.C.