DECRIMINALIZATION MAY REDUCE POT USE

RCMP efforts to eradicate the marijuana trade are no doubt well-intended,
but ultimately counterproductive.

The drug war's distortion of basic supply and demand dynamics makes an
easily grown weed literally worth its weight in gold. Canadian tax dollars
are being wasted on anti-drug strategies that only make marijuana growing
more profitable.

And let's not kid ourselves about protecting children. The thriving black
market has no controls for age, making it easier for teenagers to buy
illegal drugs than than they can buy beer. Politicians need to stop
worrying about the message drug policy reform sends to children and start
thinking about the children themselves.

There are cost-effective alternatives to the failed drug war. In Europe,
the Netherlands has successfully reduced overall drug use by replacing
marijuana prohibition with regulation. Separating the hard and soft drug
markets and establishing age controls for marijuana has proven more
effective than zero tolerance.

As the most popular illicit drug in Canada, marijuana provides the black
market contacts that introduce users to drugs like heroin. This "gateway"
is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy.

Given that marijuana is arguably safer than legal alcohol - pot has never
been shown to cause an overdose death - it makes no sense to waste tax
dollars on policies that finance organized crime groups like the Hells
Angels and facilitate the use of addictive hard drugs.

Robert Sharpe Program Officer The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation
Washington, DC http://www.drugpolicy.org