MARIJUANA NOT ALL BAD

Anti-legalization of marijuana forces often use that tired, old adage
that marijuana leads to harder drugs. Yes, and to quote the late
George Carlin, mother's milk leads to everything. Perhaps one of the
reasons marijuana is a starter drug for many is that the people
selling it also sell the more profitable harder drugs. The percentage
of people who are addiction-prone, who could become addicted to
things not inherently addictive, is small in relation to the
population at large. These are people who can become addicted to
cookies or French fries. Should we ban them, too, as obesity is
unhealthy and raises medical costs for all? Oh, wait, we're sort of
in the process of doing that.

Let's all deal in reality. Alcohol prohibition cost this country much
in the way of gangs becoming strong and rich, and with killings in
the internecine wars that followed their rise. Not to mention loss of
tax revenue on the illegal, and therefore untaxed, alcohol.
Legalization and the release of inmates charged with
marijuana-related offenses would lower prison costs, raise tax
revenue and weaken drug cartels by reducing their revenue.

Marijuana is a weed, grows easily and could provide a great cash crop
to farmers who are basically paid to grow nothing to prop up produce
prices. Waving the magic wand of a law at a problem does not make the
problem go away, and in the case of marijuana, doesn't accomplish
much in the end. The reason drugs are made illegal is due to risk of
overdose and to reduce related crime. Marijuana users aren't addicts
in the sense of heroin or crack addicts. They aren't mugging people
or burglarizing houses to feed their habit. This issue needs calm,
logical scrutiny, not emotionally fed rhetoric.

Edward Beck, Fort Lauderdale