LEGALIZE AND REGULATE MARIJUANA

RE "LETTER to the Editor," by Jay Hunter (Nov. 5): No, editor, Hunter's
argument is not an oversimplification, as your snide parenthetical
one-liner has it. It simply cuts right to the heart of the issue.

The two million Canadian pot smokers are buying their pot from black market
sources, and the only way to make us stop is to legalize marijuana. That's
right, legalize and regulate, and probably even tax the stuff too, so that
we wont be supporting organized criminals anymore, and so that little
Johnny will at least have to present some ID along with that wad of cash
before he can buy his reefers.

Making growing "risky" by prohibiting pot leads to expensive marijuana,
stolen hydro, gangland violence, unregulated pot, kids having easier access
to pot than to booze and widespread disrespect for the law.

Chris Hagglund

(Keeping pot illegal may be the greater of two evils, but we take the idea
that legalizing it will make it harder for kids to get with a very large
helping of salt)