OPINION:
Your Jan. 29 editorial, “The president of pot,” makes the common mistake of assuming that marijuana prohibition deters marijuana use. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a grand success.
The drug war distorts supply-and-demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal is to deter use, marijuana prohibition is a catastrophic failure.
The United States has almost twice as much marijuana use as the Netherlands, where the possession of less than five grams of marijuana has been decriminalized.
The criminalization of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. The war on marijuana consumers is a failed cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based public health campaign.
It’s time to stop the pointless arrests and instead tax legal marijuana.
ROBERT SHARPE
Policy analyst
Common Sense for Drug Policy
Washington
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