LEGAL MARIJUANA? WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE?

Monroe Anderson makes a passionate plea to legalize marijuana in
Illinois [column, Nov. 12]. It is an intriguing possibility. Exciting,
even.

Legalizing the production and distribution of marijuana would be good
for lots of people we haven't even stopped to consider. It would be
good for the pickers in the field, who would be able to bargain for
fair wages from legal corporations without fear of violent
retribution. It would be good for the distributors who would no longer
live with the threat of being shot down in the street by the
competition. And it would be good for the consciences of those 94
million Americans who have been financing that bloodshed for so long.

It would be a boon to trial lawyers, who would now have legal entities
to sue for the chromosomal damage that even one joint causes. Some
would probably try to sue the industry over the fact that marijuana is
several times more carcinogenic than cigarettes and causes permanent
brain damage much faster than severe alcohol abuse, but marijuana
producers will be able to raise the defense that their users willingly
accepted those risks. Families who have lost members to drug-related
violence may also have someone to sue at last.

Pat Byrnes

North Center