CRIMINALIZING MARIJUANA DOES NOT PAY OFF

To the Editor:

The drug war is in large part a war on marijuana, by far the most
popular illicit drug. Marijuana prohibition has done little other
than burden millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens with criminal
records. The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Study
reports that lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the United States
than in any European country, yet America is one of the few Western
countries that uses its criminal justice system to punish citizens
who prefer marijuana to martinis. The short-term health effects of
marijuana are inconsequential compared to the long-term effects of
criminal records. Unfortunately, marijuana represents the
counterculture to many Americans. In subsidizing the prejudices of
culture warriors, government is subsidizing organized crime.

The drug war's distortion of immutable laws of supply and demand make
an easily grown weed literally worth its weight in gold. The only
clear winners in the war on marijuana are drug cartels and shameless
tough-on-drugs politicians who've built careers on confusing drug
prohibition's collateral damage with a relatively harmless
plant. The big losers in this battle are the American taxpayers who
have been deluded into believing big government is the appropriate
response to non-traditional consensual vices. Students who want to
help end the intergenerational culture war, otherwise known as the
war on some drugs, should contact Students for Sensible Drug Policy
at www.ssdp.org.

Sincerely,
Robert Sharpe
Policy Analyst
Common Sense for Drug Policy