LEGALIZE POT; SAVE LIVES

Re " Sacramento sheriff, ex-judge debate legal pot" (Our Region, June
23): Sheriff John McGinness might argue that legalizing marijuana is
not the "best course of action," but it's undeniable that our nation's
current drug policy has failed. It is futile to continue to waste
money and resources on the same unsuccessful tactics our nation has
already tried, expecting a different outcome. Portugal decriminalized
personal possession of all illicit drugs in 2001, because the country
recognized that criminalization was actually hindering efforts to
improve people's health, reduce overdose deaths, and address chronic
addiction. Ten years later, overdose deaths in Portugal have fallen by
half, the number of people entering drug treatment has doubled and
drug usage rates have remained among the lowest in Europe and much
lower than in the United States.

Allison Stouch, Los Angeles