LEGITIMIZE MARIJUANA NOW

To the editor:

Lindsay's hazardous marijuana-grow operations are a direct result of
marijuana prohibition, not the plant itself.

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.

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 enforceable age controls.
Right now kids have an easier time buying pot than beer.

Separating the hard and soft drug markets is critical.

Marijuana may be relatively harmless compared to legal alcohol -- pot has
never been shown to cause an overdose death -- but marijuana prohibition is
deadly.

As long as marijuana distribution remains in the hands of organized crime,
consumers will continue to come into contact with harder drugs like
cocaine. Drug policy reform may send the wrong message to children, but I
like to think the children themselves are more important than the message.

Sincerely,

Robert Sharpe, M.P.A., Program Officer, Drug Policy Alliance, Washington,
DC 20005, United States of America

(Indeed they are.)