END REEFER MADNESS

(Re: "Legislators: Pot law needed," news, Jan. 7.) I was at my local
Target buying the usual staples from the $1 area, as well as some
antihistamines and NyQuil. You see, I have what 70 percent of
Colorado has - a bad cold.

Anyway, upon paying for my items, the clerk had to scan my license in
order to sell me the antihistamine. I understand that it is to curb
the meth production problem, but it got me thinking. I should really
give an ID and sign sort of form saying I read all the potential side
effects of the NyQuil. That is the truly dangerous drug that I will
be ingesting. I can O.D., develop a physical addiction, and be a
lethalweapon behind the wheel of a car while "high" on it. Yet, I can
buy bottles of it over the counter.

Then I read your article and came up with an easy solution to the
marijuana laws: sell pot over the counter. Let dispensaries sell it
as medicinal, but let the buyer decide how he/she will use it, just
like NyQuil or Benadryl, etc.

Our (useless) state legislators should ease the regulations instead
of trying to work around the state's constitution. In the end, it
will save taxpayers money and create tax revenue. The money saved
would all be from the endless court cases that will be eliminated.
The law would state that it is still medicinal, but eliminate the
horse-and-pony show of who really "needs" pot. Then, DAs and sheriffs
would know exactly how the law applies.

This would put new pressure on the federal government to either
enforce the federal law or re-evaluate whether marijuana is a drug
with no medicinal purpose. The current administration has pussyfooted
around this issue, and I believe this would bring this issue to the forefront.

Another part of the law should allow cities/counties to allow how pot
is sold. They could allow everything from a "coffee shop" setting
like in Holland to being absolutely dry. There are dry counties all
over the United States. They forfeit tax revenue from alcohol sales
for puritan beliefs. That should be their right in this case as well.

In the end, this could change how every state and the nation looks at
the pot issue. Colorado could be the model that other states follow.
Then maybe the "reefer madness" myth will also be finally destroyed.

William Ambrose/Broomfield