Fighting The Drug War

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It seems to me that in order to properly evaluate our nation's drug policies, we need to compare and contrast our drug policies with those of another nation with substantially different drug policies. I suggest that we use the Czech Republic for our comparison.

In the Czech Republic, citizens can legally use, possess, grow or purchase small quantities of marijuana.

In the United States, many otherwise law-abiding citizens, are locked in prison cages for possessing, growing or selling various amounts of marijuana.

The Czech overall drug-arrest rate is 1 per 100,000 population. The U.S. overall drug-arrest rate is 585 per 100,000 population. The Czech robbery rate is 2 per 100,000 population. The U.S. robbery rate is 145.9 per 100,000 population, according to the FBI. According to our drug war cheerleaders, tolerant marijuana laws cause people to use other, much more dangerous drugs like meth and ******.

Obviously, this doesn't happen in the Czech Republic. Why not? Could it be that when people can legally obtain marijuana at an affordable price, they tend not to use or desire any other recreational drugs?

Could it be that marijuana legalization actually creates a roadblock to hard drug use -- not a gateway?

Kirk Muse

Source: Tribune Review (Pittsburgh, PA)
Copyright: 2007 Tribune-Review Publishing Co.
Contact: opinion@tribweb.com
Website: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review