THE MARIJUANA DEBATE

The multiple commentaries regarding the legalization of marijuana
carried a lot of view points, but there were three facts that
emerged: 1) The best way to reduce drug use is through education and
treatment; 2) The tens of billions of dollars we spend each year
trying to halt the flow of drugs has been largely ineffective
considering the continued size of the market for drugs and ease of
availability; and 3) Virtually no research has been done regarding
the benefits or dangers of marijuana.

So the legalization question comes down to two paths: Do we continue
on our current path of spending huge amounts of taxpayer money to
halt a flow that can't be halted without good education and treatment
options which nobody is funding and which can't be provided until
some serious research about the real effects of marijuana is
conducted? Or do we try a new path, legalize it, tax it and use the
taxes to fund the research that will provide actual facts instead of
myths that can be incorporated into effective education and treatment
programs? The current path is a 40-year proven failure. The new path
offers hope of an actual reduction in usage while saving a ton of
taxpayer money and many lives.

Geoff Smith, Carlsbad