MARIJUANA STATUS QUO HAS HIGH PRICE

While Pleasant Hill Police Chief Pete Dunbar (Opinion, Sept. 20) warns
of dire consequences should Proposition 19 pass, he entirely ignores
the very real consequences that we currently live with as a result of
marijuana prohibition.

At present, California spends approximately $156 million per year to
arrest, prosecute and imprison marijuana users and sellers. What's the
result? Billions of dollars are funneled to criminal organizations,
while marijuana remains as widely available as ever.

Obviously, marijuana is never going to be eradicated. It's time to
regulate it and stop funding black-market profiteers.

Anders Froehlich

San Rafael