Tierney gets it right on marijuana

Tierney often annoys the crap out of me, but he gets it right in today's column (on TimesSelect, which always annoys the crap out of me) on this country's stupid marijuana policy. A couple excerpts for those who can't get behind the subscription wall of annoyance:

The Dutch generally use drugs less than Americans do, according to national surveys in both countries (and these surveys might understate Americans’ drug usage, since respondents are less likely to admit illegal behavior). More Americans than Dutch reported having tried marijuana, cocaine and heroin. Among teenagers who’d tried marijuana, Americans were more likely to be regular users.

[...]

The good news about drugs, Cohen says, is that the differences among countries aren’t all that important — levels of addiction are generally low in America as well as in Europe. The bad news is that the occasional drug fad get hyped into a crisis that leads to bad laws.

“Prohibition does not reduce drug use, but it does have other impacts,” he says. “It takes up an enormous amount of police time and generates large possibilities for criminal income.”

And I think three paragraphs is the limit before I get myself in intellectual property hot water. I'm glad to see the {War on Drugs = Stupidity} meme spreading. Our descendents will shake their heads in dismay when they look back this travesty.