STANCE ON DRUGS MAKES NO SENSE

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard's recent letter ("AG says he
supports current laws," Dec. 29) has no logic behind it. He says that
marijuana sales are "the major source of funds for Mexican drug cartels,"
and that drug traffickers are a growing threat. However, he is against
legalizing marijuana. That's illogical. If marijuana were legal, drug
traffickers and drug cartels wouldn't make a profit, because people could
more easily get it from legal suppliers. However, if it remains illegal,
then the cartels will continue to profit on the blackmarket demand. The
choice, as it was during prohibition, is to shut down the cartels by
legalizing, or to continue the chaos-inducing war on drugs.

Matthew James Mahoney

Chandler