REGULATION, NOT REPRESSION

In response to "Smoochin' the Pooch" [Angry Poodle Barbecue, Dec.
20]: Not only should medical marijuana be made available to patients
in need, but adult recreational use should 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 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 remains in the hands of organized crime,
consumers will continue to come into contact with hard drugs like
methamphetamine. 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 tax dollars on failed policies that finance organized crime
and facilitate hard drug use. 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