cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Legalization 





Marijuana Legalization 
Posted by FoM on May 17, 2000 at 13:07:22 PT
Letter To The Editor By Robert Sharpe
Source: Lubbock Online
If marijuana had been legalized in the 1970s there would be no "Nazi" drug labs in Texas. The crack epidemic of the '80s would have never happened.As the most popular illicit drug, marijuana provides the black market connections that introduce drug users to harder drugs like methamphetamine. 
Current drug policy is, in effect, a gateway drug policy. While there is nothing inherent in the marijuana plant that compels users to try harder drugs, its black market status puts users in contact with unscrupulous individuals who push hard drugs.Equally disturbing is the manner in which children have an easier time purchasing marijuana than beer. While a liquor store will refuse to sell alcohol to a minor to avoid losing its license, a drug dealer will sell to anyone with cash. As long as marijuana remains illegal, the established criminal distribution network will ensure that America's children can sample every new poison concocted by drug pushers.Given that marijuana is increasingly recognized as being safer than alcohol or tobacco, why not end marijuana prohibition? The answer, of course, is culture. The marijuana leaf represents the counterculture to those Americans who would like to turn the clock back to the 1950s. This misguided culture war has gone on long enough.As counter-intuitive as it may seem, legalizing marijuana would both limit access and separate the hard and soft drug markets which serve to introduce youth to the truly deadly drugs.Robert SharpeStudents for Sensible Drug PolicyGeorge Washington UniversityWashington, D.C. Re: Wave of "Nazi" drug labs places Lubbock in dangerous company (A-J, 5-1). Wednesday, May 17, 2000 © 2000 The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Students For Sensible Drug Policyhttp://www.ssdp.org/CannabisNews Archives on Cannabis:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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