LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA MAKES SENSE

James Kellogg's Aug. 2 column, "We must be careful with legalization
of marijuana," accurately identified marijuana as one of the hottest
topics in Colorado. Unfortunately, the accuracy did not extend much
beyond that.

The author rattles off the same tired, debunked and misleading
arguments that we have been hearing for years. Perhaps the most
egregious example is his touting of the so-called Gateway Theory,
which is the notion that using marijuana somehow results in future use
of harder drugs.

Yet this theory has been thoroughly invalidated by a vast amount of
scientific research conducted by the National Academy of Science's
Institute of Medicine and the RAND Corp., among others. In fact, the
research shows that the only potential gateway associated with
marijuana use is a gateway into a black market.

Every objective study on marijuana has concluded that it is far safer
than alcohol for the user and society. Why would we want to take the
hundreds of thousands of Coloradans who wish to use it and send them
into a black market in which other, more dangerous illicit substances
are often available?

The initiative proposed for the 2012 Colorado ballot would abolish
that illegal, uncontrolled marijuana market. It would allow for
responsible use by adults 21 and older and establish a system in which
marijuana is regulated in a manner similar to alcohol.

After all, if we truly want to keep marijuana out of the hands of
young people, we should be controlling its distribution rather than
maintaining the current free-for-all in which marijuana is universally
available and proof of age is never required to purchase it.

We can also take the tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars that
are circulating in the black market and bring it above ground, where
it will be taxed and can generate significant revenues to benefit all
Coloradans.

Marijuana prohibition is just as big a failure as alcohol prohibition,
and it's time we replace it with a safer, more sensible system similar
to what we have with alcohol. Fortunately, Colorado voters have the
opportunity to do just that in 2012.

Mason Tvert

Denver