HOMEGROWN CANNABIS WOULD PREVENT PRICE HIKES

The authors of "The burning question: Legalize marijuana?" reach a
conclusion that if cannabis were legal it would support the Latin American
markets and crime associated with them. This is ridiculous.

If cannabis were legal to grow, there would be so many home growers that
virtually everyone who wanted to obtain cannabis would know someone who was
growing it. The price would be nowhere near the $300 per ounce figure they
quote. High-quality hand-manicured cannabis buds would still cost from $50
to $100 an ounce, largely due to the time involved in curing and trimming
the buds.

Latin American cannabis is usually of a low quality because of the drying
and processing methods employed. No educated cannabis user would ever
choose to purchase the inferior product if high-quality domestic product
were available for comparable prices. While it is not a practice for people
to grow their own tobacco to compete with cigarette companies, it is
completely feasible with cannabis. I know this shoots down one of the
arguments for legalization, that tax revenues would be realized, but it is
a fact nonetheless.

David Lane

Santa Cruz, Calif.