UNENFORCEABLE

To the editor:

Letter writer Linda Caterine suggests clergy members are being naive
regarding the legalization of marijuana. I suggest otherwise. The
merits of the drug's medicinal benefit or whether legalization invites
disaster are not the points of discussion.

Throughout history, society has engaged in vice regardless of its
legality. Prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas, but does it take much
effort for solicitation? Gambling used to be limited to Nevada and its
casinos. Is it hard to find a Saturday night poker party or an office
sports betting pool? Alcohol was illegal during Prohibition, but did
consumption stop?

The bottom line is that humans will engage in whatever vice they wish
and will not bend due to prosecution. The point of legalization is to
decriminalize drug usage and refocus on the treatment of such
addictions. Just as we have alcohol treatment programs, drug programs
could be implemented with the money that is saved from enforcing the
unenforceable.

DAVID HUNTINGTON

Las Vegas