TIME HAS COME TO END MARIJUANA PROHIBITION

Ronald Fraser's explanation about how marijuana laws waste time and money
is a fresh breath of clear thinking in the July 29 column "Enforcing
marijuana laws wastes time, money."

Contrasting the reefer madness insanity that drives marijuana prohibition
and the drug war on law-abiding citizens, Fraser's column is striking.

In a society where dangerous alcoholic beverages and tobacco products can
be regulated well enough to permit social use, marijuana is a snap. If
marijuana is decriminalized, the value that Fraser describes can be much
more than saving police resources, prison costs and young lives being
derailed by wrongful criminalization.

The value of decriminalizing marijuana extends to other benefits of using
cannabis in medicine, agriculture and industry. The plant provides superior
fibers that outperform poplar forests and cotton fields. The fibers are
tough enough for building products and resilient enough for durable
clothing. Cannabis oils can be used in many ways including fuel supplements
for motors. Hemp in medicinal compounds safely augments pain management,
appetite stimulates and has so many applications that volumes of
substantiating research is published.

The legalization of cannabis would make social and economic benefits soar,
possibly to the point of saving an economy stressed by warfare. The
government subsidy to grow hemp implemented during WWII is a program to
re-visit.

I support Fraser's conclusion that enforcing marijuana laws is a waste. I
support the suggestion that municipalities and states take some action to
help reverse the damage caused by the prohibition of marijuana.

DAVID HOPKINS

SUPERIOR