SOME BACKWARDS THINKING

The Democrat-Herald's editorial displays some backwards thinking
(Legalization wouldn't end narcotics wars, April 3, 2010). Murder
rates decreased for 10 years after ending the original prohibition
with alcohol and there's reason to believe ending the sequel will
have the same results.

The logic of blaming "deadly violence down south" on citizens who use
"controlled substances" is interesting since the reason violence
exists is due to the reality that those very substances are in fact
not regulated and controlled.

Further, government statistics indicate 60 percent or more of the
cartel business involves the relatively safe, God-given plant
cannabis, which should never have been prohibited to begin with and
should immediately be RE-legalized. Whether or not RE-legalizing
cannabis ends the violence in Mexico is irrelevant; it's simply the
right thing to do.

Stan White, Dillon, Colo.