DRUG WAR FERTILIZER FOR GROW-OPS

To the editor:

In his letter to the editor ('Bass voted 'yes' for Grow Busters, Aug. 25"),
City Councillor Fred Bass claims he voted for Grow Busters because "Grow
Busters, though not a solution in the long run, is necessary in the short
run because illegal grow-ops can be dangerous."

Mr. Bass seemingly fails to realize that hazardous marijuana grow operations
are a direct result of marijuana prohibition. Legitimate farmers do not
steal electricity to grow produce in the basements of rented homes.

If legal, growing marijuana would be less profitable then farming tomatoes.
As it stands the drug war distorts market forces such that an easily grown
weed is literally worth its weight in gold.

Rather than continue to subsidize organized crime and put neighborhoods at
risk of fire, policy makers should consider taxing and regulating the sale
of marijuana to adults.

Robert Sharpe
Program Officer
Drug Policy Alliance,
Washington, DC