cannabisnews.com: Rather Than Prohibition, Regulate Marijuana Rather Than Prohibition, Regulate Marijuana Posted by FoM on December 02, 2000 at 17:35:01 PT By Robert Sharpe Source: Roanoke Times Millions of Americans sent a clear message Nov. 7 that they have lost faith in the nation's war on drugs. In five out of six states where drug-policy issues were on the ballot, voters decided in favor of major change regarding treatment instead of prison for nonviolent offenders, medical marijuana for patients when recommended by a doctor and reform of the civil asset-forfeiture law.A growing number of Americans are beginning to realize that the drug war does far more harm than good. When it comes to drug policy, the people are way ahead of the politicians. Fear of being labeled soft on drugs compels mainstream politicians to buy into the big lie that the drug war both fights crime and protects children from drugs.Drug-related crime is used to justify increased drug-war spending when, in fact, the relationship is largely misunderstood. When the supply of addictive drugs is successfully limited while demand remains constant, drug trafficking becomes more profitable. The obscene profits to be made guarantee replacement dealers.In the short term, drug prices are higher, which means desperate addicts increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. Those who get caught are placed in prisons that transmit violent habits and values rather than reduce them. Just as alcohol prohibition once did, the drug war fuels crime.Prohibition was repealed in 1933 amid concerns that the thriving black market was financing organized crime and exposing minors to liquor at levels previously unheard of. The infamous mobsters of the 1920s and 1930s did not ID customers for age, nor did they add warning labels to potentially lethal bottles of bathtub gin.Protections are in place today to keep liquor out of the hands of children. No such protections exist when it comes to popular illicit drugs. The drug war fails miserably at its primary mandate: protecting children from drugs.The Monitoring the Future Survey, an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes and values of young Americans, reports that for every year from 1975 to 1999, at least 82 percent of high school seniors surveyed found marijuana "fairly easy" or "very easy" to obtain. In 1999, 89 percent of high school seniors reported that marijuana was fairly or very easy to obtain.Drug policies designed to protect children have given rise to a youth-oriented black market in which marijuana, the most popular illicit drug, is readily available, despite its illegality. Like any drug, marijuana can be harmful if abused, which is why keeping it out of the hands of children during their formative years is critical. As previously mentioned, the black market has no controls for age. Fortunately, marijuana is relatively benign compared to alcohol, which continues to be the most popular recreational drug.According to the Centers for Disease Control, 19,515 Americans died alcohol-induced deaths in 1998. In the thousands of years humans have used marijuana, there has never been an overdose death attributed to pot. The same cannot be said of aspirin, much less a toxic drug like alcohol.Although marijuana is relatively harmless, its prohibition is deadly. Marijuana is demonized as a gateway drug, yet our misguided drug policy provides the gateway. While there is nothing inherent in marijuana that compels users to try drugs like heroin, its black-market status puts users in contact with criminals who push them. As long as pot remains illegal, the established criminal distribution network will ensure that kids are exposed to every poison concocted by pushers. Current drug policy is effectively a gateway policy.Sensible regulation is desperately needed to undermine the volatile black market and restrict access to drugs. As counterintuitive as it may seem, replacing marijuana prohibition with regulation would ultimately do a better job of protecting children from drugs than the failed drug war.Granted, such a pragmatic approach is unlikely to gain widespread political support any time soon. Far too much political capital has been invested in the failed drug war. Nonetheless, this year's election results indicate that there is hope for a much-needed overhaul of America's counterproductive drug laws.Complete Title: Rather Than Prohibition, Regulate Legalized Marijuana To Protect KidsNote: Robert Sharpe is program officer with The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation in Washington, D.C.TLC - DPFhttp://www.lindesmith.org/Source: Roanoke TimesAuthor: Robert SharpePublished: December 2, 2000Copyright: 2000 Roanoke TimesAddress: 201 W. Campbell Ave., Roanoke, Va. 24010Contact: karent roanoke.comWebsite: http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/index.htmlRelated Articles:Legalizing Marijuana Would Save Our Kidshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7755.shtmlInsane Drug Policy http://cannabisnews.com/news/6/thread6455.shtmlMarijuana Legalization http://cannabisnews.com/news/5/thread5766.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #5 posted by freedom fighter on December 02, 2000 at 21:14:38 PT Joel Miller is another guy in the list.. Joesph McNamara, is another one as well.. The list keeps on growing! Most of all, it is all of us who have been commenting in any of the postings that were made in here. I have a photogenic memory of anything that is printed and I often see many of our phrases rewritten by many other writers. "We have nothing to fear but the fear itself" [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by i_rule_ on December 02, 2000 at 20:52:33 PT Kudos Another hero for our side. I don't know who could have said it better, including Dan Garner. These two guys deserve medals. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by defenderofreeworld on December 02, 2000 at 20:05:26 PT: thumbs up if only more people were as honest and objective as this guy.if only... [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Robbie on December 02, 2000 at 19:45:50 PT: The author of the story His name is Robert Sharpe and he is very eloquent in his writing. He has been a long time contributor of news articles and letters to the editor; but the kicker is, he was, until recently, a student. Articles by Robert Sharpe at MAPInc.org [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by military officer guy on December 02, 2000 at 18:40:03 PT who the hell was this guy? this guy can't work for a newspaper or any media for that matter, there was too much honesty in the writting...this was one of the best articles i have read here to date...there are a couple others that are up there too, but this one rocked...this is a keeper, i'm luvn it...we can win this war... [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: