IF POT IS GOING TO BE OUTLAWED, WHY NOT MORE DESTRUCTIVE ALCOHOL?

Congratulations Alaska, you just took a giant step backward toward
becoming indistinguishable from the Lower 48. Alaskans used to value
highly our individual liberties and privacy (and still like to talk
about being independent). Nothing symbolized -- and verified -- this
better than our former break with Lower 48 tradition regarding
marijuana laws. The true test of freedom lies in allowing it for the
other guy, not in demanding it for yourself.

Traditional marijuana laws do not work Outside and probably won't
work here. They are costly to taxpayers, introduce our kids to the
corrections system, and should be made similar to current alcohol
laws. Keep pot off the roads, and out of the workplace. Remember that
Prohibition of the 1920s created a black market so lucrative that it
placed Al Capone in power (and many died in the process).

Comparing modern high-potency marijuana with the old regular kind is
like comparing whiskey with beer. The users still adjust their volume
of consumption to get the drug dosage they want.

If our Legislature considers itself a knight in shining armor for
defending us from a mundane drug that turns people into couch
potatoes, then perhaps it should address the tougher challenge of the
more popular drugs that are daily killing both users and non-users
alike: alcohol and nicotine.

- Tim Coahran

Anchorage