REGULATE, BUT DON'T PROHIBIT

To the editor: A response to Hugh Kelley ("Legalization won't work," Jan.
3). I am a mother of two young children. I have to start looking out for
them. I honestly believe "regulation is the key." Currently, illegal drugs
are the easiest to attain for kids these days. Easier than alcohol and
tobacco. Creating regulation rather than the black market would make drugs
harder for our children to attain and would take profit and violence away
from the streets. Just because a drug would become regulated doesn't mean
that everyone would want to try it. I think there are people who plan to
use them, legal or not, and others who have no interest in using them at
all. Your assumptions are specious and ought to be re-examined.

Diana Valencia, Kelseyville, Calif.