MARIJUANA ON STATE BALLOT

Re: "Legalizing pot would hurt kids, and here's why," Aug. 27 Cindy
Rodriguez column.

I strongly disagree with Cindy Rodriguez's stance against Amendment
44. Maybe it's because I'm a college graduate myself and I work in the
tech industry that all of the adult pot smokers I've known have been
of above-average intelligence with above-average salaries.

As a woman and a taxpayer, I prefer that law enforcement direct their
resources toward reducing violent crimes against women and children,
not waste my money chasing down otherwise non-violent, taxpaying and
law-abiding adults who use marijuana.

The war on marijuana has been costly and ineffective. It has resulted
in the criminalization of the hemp plant, which has many uses and is a
better crop for many U.S. farmers than cotton or other
alternatives.

It's time to move beyond alarmist language to focus our attention and
resources on the real problems that confront us.

Paulie Rainbow, Denver