REFOCUS DRUG WAR

Pat Butler's July 9th column was right on target. While local
governments are struggling with a methamphetamine epidemic, the
Office of National Drug Control Policy is spending millions on a
reefer madness revisited ad campaign. This reflects a truly bizarre
sense of priorities.

A National Association of Counties survey found that the vast
majority of county officials report that methamphetamine is the
biggest drug problem. Local law enforcement is where the rubber meets
the road. These are the public safety professionals who deal with
drug offenses on a daily basis. And it's not marijuana that concerns
them, but rather meth. Meanwhile, an out-of-touch federal government
continues to be obsessed with marijuana, even going so far as to
prosecute terminally ill patients who use medical marijuana. The
biggest lie to come out of the ONDCP is that new, potent strains of
marijuana allegedly make pot a far more dangerous drug. This is pure
nonsense. The only difference between weak and strong marijuana is
that potent marijuana requires significantly less smoke inhalation to
achieve the desired effect. It's actually less harmful. The tax
dollars wasted on the ONDCP's misleading anti-marijuana campaign
would be better spent on treatment for methamphetamine addicts.

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy