It’s heartening to hear that local municipal councils are calling for the de-criminalization and regulation of marijuana. The U.S. “war on drugs” method is clearly not working.
The real winner of that so-called war is organized crime and it comes at the expense of us who foot the bill for police, jails, hospitals and social ills that addiction brings. It’s time to put aside the myth of the “gateway drug.” Most people who try marijuana or even use it on a regular basis do not go on to become junkies any more than the millions who drink beer end up as winos.
Addiction is a health issue most often with deep psychological and social roots unrelated to the substance itself. Most of those who end up in jail are victims of their history and victims of the real criminals who continue to live high on the hog on the profits of prohibition.
Howard Brown
Enderby
