Re: “Don’t pretend pot is harmless,” editorial, Aug 9.
Marijuana can be harmful if abused. Criminal records are nonetheless inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents to marijuana use.
Marijuana prohibition does not make the plant any safer. Prohibition compounds the dangers of marijuana by granting a monopoly on marijuana distribution to drug cartels that sell methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. Marijuana prohibition is a gateway drug policy.
It’s time for politicians to stop confusing the drug war’s tremendous collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant.
Robert Sharpe
Policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy
Washington