REASONS TO LEGALIZE

Marijuana should be legalized for recreational use. There are many
reasons but space permits only a few:

Marijuana will no longer be a gateway drug to the black market if it
is legalized. This will reduce exposure to harder black market drugs.

Proposition 86, a tobacco tax, was opposed by law enforcement because
law enforcement believed a black market would result from the tax, and
law enforcement said black markets increase crime.

That being the case, how much lower will crime be with regulated
licensed dealers selling taxable marijuana to adults than the current
prohibitionist black market distribution system where children sell to
other children so gangs can profit and influence their lives?

Once legal at the state level, marijuana can also be taxed at the
local level. If the Rand Corporation's estimates are accurate and the
cost to produce one ounce is $50 then there could be up to $100 tax
per ounce and still sell below current prices undercutting black
markets and also, perhaps, saving a cop's job in your town.

Finally, end the uncomfortable obvious hypocrisy that often
accompanies this question: Why is marijuana illegal and tobacco and
alcohol legal?

Glenn White

Dublin