Letter to the Editor

Drug war fuels crime

Friday, July 10, 2009

Dear Editor,

Taxing and regulating marijuana makes sense. Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have given rise to a youth-oriented black market.

Illegal drug dealers don't ID for age, but they do recruit minors immune to adult sentences. So much for protecting the children.

Throwing more money at the problem is no solution. Attempts to eliminate the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs like methamphetamine, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime, it fuels crime.

Legalizing marijuana is a cost-effective alternative to continued drug war failure. As long as organized crime controls marijuana distribution, consumers will continue to come into contact with hard drugs. This "gateway" is a direct result of marijuana prohibition.

Sincerely,

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Common Sense for Drug Policy

www.csdp.org

Washington, DC

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  • Forgive me for not providing anything useful to this discussion, but I would like to state that all these prohibitive killing and raping policies aren't stopping people from killing or raping. Such urges don't ID for age, as seen by kids killing other people and children getting raped. Legalizing murder and rape is a cost effective alternative for protecting people and hunting down dangerous murderers and rapists. As long as sinful urges controls such things, then people will continue to do them. At least if we tax and regulate murder and rape, we can make sure that the victims can enjoy it and be preserved so that their organs remain intact for patients who need transplants.

    I thank you for taking the time to listen to my twisting of people's logic. We now continue with your regularly scheduled productive or non-productive discussion.

    -- Posted by bjo on Fri, Jul 10, 2009, at 12:27 PM
  • So do we legalize just weed? How about the legalization of blow? Or hallucinogenics? What about meth? How would you control consumption? Would there be ID cards that indicate if you are an addict? How do we keep minors from abusing legalized drugs?.

    Just a few question for Robert Sharpe MPA.

    -- Posted by Hugh Jassle on Fri, Jul 10, 2009, at 7:29 PM
  • Twisting is correct. There is a large difference between non-violent crimes and violent ones. Legalizing a violent crime has nothing to do with legalizing an act that harms nobody but themselves. Legalize marijuana. Alcohol kills, marijuana doesnt.

    -- Posted by thamunk on Fri, Jul 10, 2009, at 11:09 PM
  • All other drugs ARE bad and Dangerous and as such should remain illegal. Marijuana is not harmless, however the harms of Pot are far Less than that of EVERY other drug out there including Alcohol, not to mention you can NEVER overdose from it. Pot is by far a safer alternative than Booze and those who chose to smoke rather than drink should be allowed to do so.

    -- Posted by todd432 on Sat, Jul 11, 2009, at 8:58 AM
  • todd432

    "All other drugs ARE bad and Dangerous and as such should remain illegal." In who's eyes? I'm sure if you ask the local crackheads, they'll disagree.

    The overdose from pot a actually a chronic overdose. The higher levels of tar, as compared to tobacco, leads to lung disease. Are health insurance companies to pay for this as well?

    If weed is legalized, will businesses have to stop drug testing employees for it?

    -- Posted by Hugh Jassle on Sat, Jul 11, 2009, at 9:46 AM
  • Why do people continue to insist that prohibition will work ?? It will not, and is inherently destined to failure..That is what is real and what is true, whether you believe it or not... Whether you smoke pot or not does not matter...why must the attitude that people who do smoke pot are useless dregs of society persist???That attitude is neither real nor true... Legalization takes away the real criminals out of the equation.. It is here to stay, and all the billions we spend every year to suppress it will ultimately fail miserably.. You want to clean up your neighborhood??? Want to give a hand to help prevent crime?? Want the billions we spend every year on the current prohibition efforts to go to more teachers, law enforcement, and other sorely needed public programs ???Pedophiles and pot smokers live in your neighborhood...Which do you prefer ?? Legalization of marijuana will stop all the street sales, to minors and everyone else as well...No more people hanging out on the street corner menacing your neighborhood... Regulation will become a reality, money will literally pour into public coffers, where it is desperately needed.. If you believe that all intoxicants are inherently evil,this message is not for you...You will never be satisfied until everything that would alter the conscientiousness is eliminated... Good f****** luck...Never gonna happen... Be satisfied with praying for all us heads... That is the best you can do...It is time to emerge from the darkness of prohibition and see it for what it really is... A small portion of the population wanting to push their agenda down EVERY BODIES throat under the thinly veiled guise of "protecting the general public", or eliminating the major gateway drug... If you drink beer, it does not mean you will be guzzling vodka soon.. Get real .. If something I do in the privacy of my home does not harm you, get the **** out of my business...Where are my constitutional rights that all we Americans live by ?? For crying out loud, it is a WEED!! Been here forever, and is not going away... Love it or hate it, it is here to stay...Learn the REAL FACTS, not by reading some sensationalized accounts,or by watching "Reefer Madness", but by really digging and know the truth. Pot is, by far, the least damaging drug Americans use, legalized or not. Seek out WHAT IS REAL, AND WHAT IS TRUE. What is really the arrest history of Amsterdam, for instance, where pot is virtually legal...How many violent crimes are committed there, in comparison to the USA ??Biased OPINIONS are everywhere, find the TRUTH for yourself and realize how many billions of dollars are spent every year...OUR TAX DOLLARS.. on the prohibition effort..WE are not asking you to smoke with us, just to leave us alone and let us recreate in the privacy of our homes, as we see fit...When will the silliness of this end ?? Been waiting 36 years, time for change is at hand, at last..

    -- Posted by tony1956 on Fri, Jul 17, 2009, at 6:45 AM
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