DECRIMINALIZE POT

It's time to put to rest the myth that marijuana usage is a fringe or
deviant activity, engaged in by those on the margins of society. In
reality, marijuana use is extremely common, and marijuana is the
recreational drug of choice for millions of hardworking, middle-class
Americans.

Marijuana users in this country are no different than their non-using
peers, except for their use of marijuana.

Like most Americans, they are responsible citizens who work hard, raise
families, contribute to their communities and want a safe, crime-free
neighborhood in which to live. Otherwise law-abiding citizens who use
marijuana are not part of the crime problem, and we must stop treating them
like criminals.

Arresting and jailing marijuana users serves no legitimate purpose. I urge
every American to support a change in federal criminal law that would focus
law-enforcement efforts against violent criminals, and end the practice of
arresting and jailing otherwise law-abiding marijuana users.

Gene Laratonda
Leechburg, PA