POT PROS AND CONS

There is a big difference between condoning marijuana use and
protecting children from drugs. Decriminalization acknowledges the
social reality of marijuana and frees users from the stigma of
life-shattering criminal records. What's really needed is a regulated
market with age controls. The United States has higher rates of
marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally
available to adults 18 and older.

As is the case with alcohol, age controls can only go so far. Far
more important is the separation of hard- and soft-drug markets. As
long as organized crime controls marijuana distribution, consumers
will continue to come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like
cocaine, meth and heroin. This "gateway" is a direct result of
marijuana prohibition.

Marijuana may be relatively harmless, but marijuana prohibition is deadly.

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C.