Czar's Reefer Madness.

Check out this great op-ed in the NY Times by John Tierny (MAPINC) about the Bush Administration's pointless obsession with marijuana and how the Netherlands actually manages to have less drug users and focus on real crime. Here are some snips from the letter:

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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.

"Drug policy is irrelevant," says Cohen, the former director of the Center for Drug Research at the University of Amsterdam. It's quite logical, he says, to theorize that outlawing drugs would have an impact, but experience shows otherwise, both in America and in some European countries with stricter laws than the Netherlands but no less drug use.

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

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I think John Walters is having a bad week.