REGULATION BY LEGALIZATION IS ANSWER

The Daily Sentinel editorial urging voters to vote no against
Amendment 44 is disgraceful. Not because they oppose the issue, but
because they make a statement that is patently false in their
justification. Declaring that Amendment 44, "creates a loophole in
state law that would allow those over 21 to legally transfer up to an
ounce of marijuana to another person 15 years or older," is 100
percent false. If Amendment 44 passes, it will remain a felony to
contribute to the delinquency of a minor by such a transfer.

The Rocky Mountain News pointed this out in their Sept. 15 edition.
They said, "Unfortunately, the clear implication of that statement -
that the amendment decriminalizes such transfers, at least insofar as
the state is concerned - is simply false." So why is the Sentinel
still making this discredited argument?

They are not balanced in their opinion either. The libertarian
argument that the editorial briefly offers is not compelling. The most
gripping argument is that with prohibition we have made marijuana more
available to youth. The reality we live in sees youth gangs
responsible for most Marijuana in this valley. Prohibition of adults
creates the black market where youth gangs thrive. I grew up here and
went to our public schools. I witnessed the systematic destruction of
our youth in many of my friends as they sold pot. When you're young
and naive, it sounds like a great idea to make a few thousand bucks
doing nothing more than partying with your friends and selling weed.
The point is, what we have now has made pot easiest available to the
very crowd that we are supposedly trying to keep it away from while
introducing them to an addictive lifestyle of seemingly lucrative crime.

Vote Yes on 44 to legalize marijuana and thereby take the obvious step
toward regulation.

We need a policy that more effectively keeps marijuana out of the
hands of our children. Moving toward regulation by legalization is
exactly that.

David Cox

Grand Junction