LEGALIZATION WILL CUT CONSUMPTION

Lee Weigel, you might as well just come out and say that you don't
believe marijuana users are seeking permission to use it as a
medicine, and they just want to get high.

Well, that is the problem. I guess you feel that cigarettes and
alcohol are already bad enough, and we don't need kids smoking pot
legally to add to the problem. But, you are ignoring that pot is
significantly less dangerous than either alcohol or tobacco, and that
legalizing it will not make it any easier to acquire than popping in
to visit the local drug dealer is right now.

Not to mention the benefits of taxation, where money is diverted from
the black market profiteers to the government coffers. It's a no-brainer.

If you are worried that kids will get the wrong idea and it will lead
to use of other drugs, well guess what? It is currently very easy to
get any drug because drug dealers know the demand is there, and
legalization actually sends a very different message. Just as alcohol
consumption decreased after Prohibition was repealed, so will pot
smoking become less fashionable as the "taboo" stigma disappears.
This is Psych 101.

Christopher Gore

Cathedral City