MARIJUANA SHOULD BE DECRIMINALIZED

Dear Editor,

Summerland'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.

At present the drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so much
that an easily grown weed like marijuana is literally worth its
weight in gold. The efforts of police to eradicate grow ops
guarantees more of the same.

Rather than continue to subsidize organized crime and put
neighborhoods at risk of fire, policymakers 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. At present kids have an easier time buying pot than beer.

Far more disturbing is the manner in which marijuana's illegal status
exposes users to sellers of hard drugs. Marijuana may be relatively
harmless compared to alcohol - the plant 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 drugs like
cocaine.

Robert Sharpe, M.P.A.
Program Officer
Drug Policy Alliance
Washington, D.C.