LESS CRIME, MORE ADDICTION

Dan Walters, in his Feb. 26 column ("High time to legalize, regulate,
tax marijuana," Page A-11), argued that the legalization of marijuana
would result in a decrease in crime cases, save the government the
costs of incarcerations involving marijuana and be a source of revenue
for the taxes that could be collected for the legal sales of
marijuana. If the results of Prohibition are any indication, as
Walters pointed out, legalizing marijuana would indeed reduce crime
associated with this drug. However, it would also increase the usage
of and, for many users, the addiction to this drug. It is my
understanding that when alcohol was legalized after the Prohibition
era, alcoholism increased.

Furthermore, marijuana is often a gateway drug for heavier street
drugs, such as cocaine, heroin and meth. So making marijuana legal
would most likely increase the usage of, addiction to and crimes
associated with these drugs and the financial and other costs to
society from the increased addictions to these drugs. It would be wise
to consider carefully the unintended consequences of legalizing marijuana.

Elton Nelson

Turlock