MANY STATES MOVE TO LEGALIZE POT

The lead story on the front page on Feb. 22 was about South Carolina
turning loose non-violent inmates from our state prison system. It
spoke of these being mostly people convicted of drug offenses. Why
bother going through the judicial process just to turn these people
back on the street?

State after state is now legalizing marijuana, and taxing and
regulating it. This puts money into the state coffers; it isnÂ’t taking
money out. It also frees up law enforcement to devote their time to
crimes that are more of a threat to society.

Our federal drug czar said on a recent Sunday news program that the
war on drugs is a complete failure, and that rehab is less expensive
and more effective than jail in most cases. ItÂ’s time for the
politicians in this state to take the initiative to think out of the
box and do the smart thing.

Heywood Ellenburg
Easley