LEGALIZING MARIJUANA

There are some in our community who want to legalize pot, believing
that legalization would remove the profit incentive and deflate a
thriving black market that operates under the euphemism "medical
marijuana." There are others in our community who oppose legalization,
believing legalization to be the first step on a slippery slope to
opium dens reminiscent of China in the mid-19th century. I'd like to
offer a compromise.

Legalize pot. Anyone can buy it at the local pharmacy. All you have to
do to buy pot is to sign a release to any right of privacy and agree
to drug counseling a couple of times a year. The list of pot buyers
will be posted on a Web site and the site's contents will be available
to anyone, including automobile insurance companies. As part of the
same enacting legislation, insurance companies will be allowed to
charge discriminatory rates based upon a person's drug purchases
without fear of legal recourse. That's it — legalize away!

Paul W. Higginbotham

Penn Valley