MORE IMPORTANT: KIDS OR MESSAGE?

To the Editor

Regarding your story "Legislature eyes medical marijuana" (April 14, p. 3),
not only should medical marijuana be made available to patients in need,
but adult recreational use should also be 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. So much for protecting the children.

Throwing more money at the drug problem is no solution. Attempts to limit
the supply of drugs while demand remains constant only increase the
profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs like
methamphetamine, 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 never-ending drug war. As long as marijuana
distribution remains in the hands of organized crime, consumers will
continue to come into contact with hard drugs like cocaine. This "gateway"
is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy.

Given that marijuana is arguably safer than alcohol - the plant has never
been shown to cause an overdose death - it makes no sense to waste scarce
resources 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.

20012

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy