LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

It's simply outrageous that people are being killed in Boulder County
for suspicion of violating marijuana prohibition.

Only recently, a young Lafayette man was TASERed to death by police
for failing to cooperate during a garden variety pot-growing
investigation ("Task force investigates Taser death," News Aug. 7).
The fellow in question, unarmed, had the impudence to run away from
approaching officers. But, when soon apprehended, police reports
indicate he became upset and may have foolishly challenged the several
officers at the scene.

He died on the way to the hospital as a result of this mistake.

Polite society is apparently comfortable with the status quo on
cannabis policy, comfortable enough, that is, to be quiet about it.
Therefore, it's difficult to say whether anything will be learned from
this wasteful tragedy. Hopefully, however, we could have an
opportunity to vote in favor of "legalizing" cannabis in Colorado,
should the widely anticipated SAFER initiative be approved for the
ballot in November.

Surely, we must have learned by now that the only real danger
surrounding cannabis is the remarkable fact that it's still illegal.

Cord MacGuire

Boulder