LEGAL POT WOULD SOLVE PROBLEMS

Re "Keep the pot ban" (Opinionated, July 19):

Again Gail-Tzipporah Saunders drops the bong, er, ball. Another
conservative who thinks that they know what's best for everyone. I've
had great conversations with people who were stoned. On the contrary,
I can't say the same of belligerent drunks.

The U.S. has spent billions of dollars incarcerating and imprisoning
pot smokers. Legalization wouldn't just save money, by taxing it,
California would generate over a billion dollars each year. It would
help tremendously to neutralize drug cartels, the violence associated
with them, and slow the roll of the street gangs. If the politicians
she sometimes praises and defends did their jobs, this topic wouldn't
even be on the table for discussion.

Kyle Laurent

Newhall