SOLUTION IS TO LEGALIZE, NOT DECRIMINALIZE, POT

Re: the Oct. 8 column "As drugs pour in, legalizing pot no longer a pipe
dream":

Thanks for publishing Robert Robb's outstanding column. I certainly agree
that legalization is the best answer compared with decriminalization. With
decriminalization, distribution and production remain in the hands of
criminals.

I disagree that: "Legalization of even marijuana would be a big step into
the unknown." For the vast majority of our nation's history, marijuana was
legal. It was first criminalized via the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. Before
1937, anybody could buy marijuana in pharmacies and lots of other places
with no questions asked.

Did we have a major problem with marijuana back then? No. Do we have a
major problem with marijuana today? Yes.

That's because today marijuana is unregulated, untaxed and controlled by
criminals, just as alcohol was when it was illegal.

KIRK MUSE Mesa