BARGAIN POT PRICES

* Thank you for pointing out the dramatically lower cost of living in
California, at least for some items. On Oct. 4 there is a story about two
elderly pot growers in Wisconsin who got busted with 500 plants and 100
pounds of processed marijuana worth "more than half a million dollars."
Figure a pound of weed per plant plus the 100 already processed, that's 600
pounds for half a million, or about $800 per pound.

Meanwhile, there is another small story about a pot farm discovered by
firefighters in Red Bluff, Calif., with "15,000 pounds of processed
marijuana with a street value of about $75,000." That's an economical $5 a
pound. With savings like that, no wonder we Californians can afford to lease
sporty cars and get liposuction.

ALEX AUERBACH Sherman Oaks