WE CAN'T STOP POT, BUT CAN TAX IT

Re "The height of ignorance" (Letters, May 11): I think the letter
writer misses the point. Of course smoking pot is harmful, just like
smoking cigarettes, cigars and pipes. So is chewing tobacco or
consuming alcohol. So are sugar and coffee.

The issue isn't whether it's harmful. The issue is whether or not
people want it and have a ready supply of it. Is there a high school
student anywhere in this country who can't get his hands on marijuana
if he wants some? Anyone who wants it can get it. Therefore, outlawing
it has no correlation with its consumption. Remember how well the
Volstead Act worked in the 1920s?

Once we take an honest look at the situation, we will realize that we
cannot stop its use. However, if we legalize it, we can tax and
control it. The price would drop dramatically, criminals would have to
find other ways to make their millions. On the one hand, we would save
untold billions of dollars in our justice system, abandoning the
losing battle against its production, sale and use. On the other hand,
we would have billions more in tax revenues to pay for prevention and
rehab.

Gary Ciampi, El Dorado Hills