LEGAL POT WOULD HURT STATE

I have read the arguments in favor of Proposition 19 to legalize
marijuana, and they fail to make the case for legalization.
Legalization will be very bad for California.

If legal drugs are any indication (alcohol, tobacco, etc.), by their
more prevalent use, particularly by the young, marijuana use will
increase as it gains social acceptance. When harmful drugs are
legalized, commercialized and made more affordable, they will be
abused more.

Marijuana, the gateway drug to other drug use, does adversely affect
users' health and will increase health care costs. The National
Institute on Drug Abuse has stated that marijuana adversely affects
users' health and worker productivity. I've personally seen lives
tragically affected by marijuana use.

Proposition 19 will make it possible for drug users to demand their
rights on the job from their employers. Marijuana legalization will
kill jobs in California.

Supporters of marijuana legalization say the drug war is lost. If we
give up on this war, we will allow generations of lives to be
destroyed by drug abuse. The discussion should center around how we
win the war and save lives, not how we surrender and destroy them.

Ben Sanacore, Lodi