LEGALIZED POT A NEW TAX SOURCE

In past severe economic downturns, governments embraced vice to help
stimulate the economy and provide more tax revenue. The U.S.
eliminated prohibition in 1933 in the middle of the Great Depression
and many Canadian provinces turned to gambling in the early 1990s by
adding lotteries and building casinos to create jobs and reduce
deficits. This time around, we should be looking at legalizing and
taxing marijuana in order to get the revenue out of the hands of
criminals, jump start a new segment of the economy, increase tourism
and provide much needed tax revenue to balance the books.

If nothing else, people will have a legal way of reducing their stress
about our economic problems.

Wayne McPhee, Toronto