a controlling interest in, the Eli Lilly Drug Company. The Eli Lilly Company has been trying to synthesize the active ingredients of marijuana, with no avail. If marijuana were legalized, it would suffer greatly, as it currently hold a monopoly on such drugs that partially mimic cannabis (Moench 111). President Jimmy Carter, however, was looking in the right direction, for August 2, 1977, the 40th anniversary of prohibition, he declared, Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marijuana in private for personal use (Still Crazy). This entire situation is not true in the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. The Netherlands provide a wonderful example of successful legalization. The Dutch are obviously doing something right, because marijuana use is almost twice as high in the United States as it is in the Netherlands (Jameson Interview). The national average of drug use in the Netherlands is 15.6%, compared to 32.9% in the United States, as of 1997 (Final Report of Dutch). Hemp is easily obtainable in Dutch coffee shops. As a result the prices are not so high, the way they are on the American black market. Low prices discourage crime, as users are not reduced to crime to get enough money just to pay for drugs (Potter Interview). In the United States, prohibition allows dealers to charge greatly inflated prices, thus causing users to turn to crime (Jameson Interview). Another successful tactic employed in Holland is the separation of markets. Marijuana is kept away from other, more dangerous drugs, and many coffee shops strictly serve marijuana (Potter Interview). In a study on Dutch drug use, 910 of 945, or 96%, said they bough cannabis in coffee shops, while the other 35 refer to other drugs. The goal in the United States should be to do the same, take marijuana out of the black market. Instead, t...
