IT'S WEIGHT IN GOLD

Editor:

In his Nov. 15th column, Bill McCarthy confuses the harm caused by
marijuana prohibition with the plant itself. Thanks to the drug war's
distortion of supply and demand dynamics, an easily grown weed like
marijuana is literally worth its weight in gold. Canadian tax dollars are
being wasted on anti-drug strategies that effectively subsidize organized
crime. As for the property-damaging illegal grow ops McCarthy complains
about, legitimate farmers do not grow produce in the basements of rented homes.

Marijuana prohibition seems even more absurd when placed in a historical
context. The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican
migration during the early 1900's. An Edmonton woman writing under the pen
name Janey Canuck first warned Canadians about the dread marijuana and its
association with non-white immigrants. Whites did not even begin to smoke
marijuana until a soon-to-be entrenched government bureaucracy began
funding reefer madness propaganda.

When threatened, the drug war gravy train predictably decries the "message"
that drug policy reform sends to children. 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 especially critical. As long
as marijuana distribution remains in the hands of organized crime,
consumers will continue to come into contact with pushers of hard drugs.
Taxing and regulating marijuana is a cost-effective alternative to the
failed drug war. Given the local expertise in this area, the tax windfall
for B.C. would be tremendous.

Sincerely,

Robert Sharpe, M.P.A.

Program Officer

The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation

http://www.drugpolicy.org Washington, DC