DON'T IMPORT DUTCH POT LAWS

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

Many people who think marijuana should be legalized use a very juvenile
approach by bringing up how well systems work in other countries. It sounds
so childlike, "But Mom, the Netherlands lets its people smoke pot." The
counter-argument does sound like a parent, but it is appropriate, "Well,
Junior, we're not the Netherlands." And that's a fact.

A recent letter citing Holland spoke of "facts, not theories." The facts
aren't too impressive. According to the statistics from the Dutch Embassy's
report on drug use and crime - taken in the mid-to late-Nineties - there is
not much difference in the use of marijuana by juveniles there and here. In
a Fox news report, Frans Koopmans of "The Hope," a treatment center in
Holland, reported, "It's helped to create a situation where the use of
mind-altering substances is a much more normal part of life for a lot of
people."

Their crime stats are considerably lower, but they had their first school
shooting last December - an unheard-of event where gun control is very strict.

Regarding alcohol: Sure, legalizing booze didn't make everyone a drunk, but
it did put a bottle of some sort in almost every house, on every corner.
Let's not increase the potency of the "domestic stash."

The letter also mentioned there were no "pot gangs" over there and no
"underground market" for pot. Ask a cop how many dealers sell only
marijuana? Then ask a dealer how he'll pick up his profit when the local
bar takes over his pot market? Feels like a Catch 22 sometimes. But let's
not give up. If we truly try, remembering our families, we will win.

Nate Ezzell, Heathsville.