WORK WITHIN LAW TO LEGALIZE POT

An April 23 letter writer asserts that police should be locking up
murderers and other "real" criminals instead of harassing pot smokers
at the park. The writer seems to believe that although there exists
the law of the land, his disagreement makes its compliance optional.
Perhaps he is right in that it should be legal (that is another
debate). He is, however, wrong in thinking that it is legal. We all
want peace and for violence to stop, but have these people that
support a criminal activity paused to consider the mayhem that
transpires in someone else's backyard?

A quick search yielded that Mexican drug cartels are responsible for
15,000 murders in less than four years. Other claims have been much
higher. One Columbian cartel kingpin is credited with over 3,500
assassinations; these include police, reporters, judges and even
construction workers and everyday people who had the misfortune of
accidentally learning too much. Take another look at those alleged
numbers. If you protest a war and bemoan crime, then should your
commerce support a bloodbath? If you devoutly believe that legalizing
pot is a good idea, you have the right to work within the law toward
that end just as others have the right to oppose it. Tolerance isn't one sided.

Rick Forbus

Memphis