Metro Times, 06 Feb 2013 – Re: Larry Gabriel’s Higher Ground column titled "Don’t be dazed" (Jan. 30): Not only should medical marijuana be made available to patients in need, but adult recreational use should be regulated. Drug policies modeled after our nation’s disastrous experiment with 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.
posted on January 31, 2013 by
US MI: PUB LTE: End America’s Reefer Madness
Detroit News, 29 Jan 2013 – Regarding Marie Myung-Ok Lee’s Jan. 25 op-ed, if health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal and there would be no medical marijuana debate. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive. Americans did not begin to smoke pot in large numbers until our federal government began funding reefer madness propaganda.
posted on January 26, 2013 by
US CA: PUB LTE: The Failure Of Prohibition
The Chico News & Review, 24 Jan 2013 – Re "Taking the high road" (Cover story, by David Downs, Jan. 17): The people of Colorado and Washington state are way ahead of the politicians in Washington, D.C. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a grand success. The drug war distorts supply-and-demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees.
posted on January 12, 2013 by
US MT: PUB LTE: Drug War Distorts
Great Falls Tribune, 11 Jan 2013 – Regarding Ben Forsyth’s Jan. 5 op-ed: If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, it’s a failure. The U.S. has double the rate of use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. The criminalization of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. The war on marijuana consumers is a failed cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based public health campaign.
posted on January 8, 2013 by
US CA: PUB LTE: Legalize Marijuana
Porterville Recorder, 07 Jan 2013 – Editor, Regarding your Dec. 27 editorial, if marijuana were fully legal there would be no backyard residential growers cashing in on inflated medical marijuana prices. Legitimate farmers would produce it by the ton at a fraction of the current cost. There is a reason you don’t see Mexican drug cartels sneaking into national forests to cultivate tomatoes and cucumbers. They cannot compete with a legal market.
posted on December 17, 2012 by
US WA: PUB LTE: State Is Ahead In Policymaking
The Columbian, 13 Dec 2012 – The voters of Washington state are way ahead of the politicians in Washington, D.C. The cautions outlined in a Dec. 6 editorial, "Pot: Proceed with caution," highlight the pressing need for marijuana law reform on a national level. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, prohibition is a failure. The United States has double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legal. The criminalization of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. As a policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy, I think the federal war on marijuana consumers is a failed cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based public health campaign. Robert Sharpe
posted on December 9, 2012 by
US CA: PUB LTE: U.S. War On Drugs Is Failed Policy
The Reporter, 09 Dec 2012 – I think it’s entirely appropriate that Humboldt State University has developed an institute devoted to marijuana research (Editorial, "Marijuana research welcome," Dec. 4). Federal agencies such as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration have zero credibility. Ignorance is a prerequisite for employment.
posted on December 7, 2012 by
US NJ: PUB LTE: Legal Marijuana A Source Of Revenue
The Times, 06 Dec 2012 – Marijuana may be fully legal before many New Jersey patients benefit from the medical marijuana law signed by former Gov. Jon Corzine three years ago. Last month, the voters of Colorado and Washington state made it clear that drug warriors can no longer get away with confusing the drug war’s collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a success: The "drug war" distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees.
posted on November 29, 2012 by
US CO: PUB LTE: Drug War Failures
Colorado Springs Independent, 28 Nov 2012 – The people of Colorado and Washington state are way ahead of the politicians in Washington, D.C. ("What’s the world coming to?" City Sage, Nov. 21). If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize Mexican drug cartels, prohibition is a success. The drug war distorts supply-and-demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees.
posted on November 24, 2012 by
US NV: PUB LTE: Just Sayin’
Reno News & Review, 22 Nov 2012 – Re "NORML man" (15 Minutes, Nov. 15): The voters of Colorado and Washington state have made it clear that the federal government can no longer get away with confusing the drug war’s collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees.
