POT ISN'T HARMFUL

As a registered Republican, I believe in certain conservative principles,
chiefly the fiscal concerns of our government. Being fiscally conservative
is a cornerstone of the Republican Party, but unfortunately, in some cases
the (very) far right has made it harder for money-saving legislation to pass.

An example -- and this may offend many of my fellow Republicans -- is the
issue of legalizing marijuana. Do I think it should be legalized? No. Do I
think it should be decriminalized? Yes.

The federal government spends billions of dollars a year on a so-called
"drug war" that isn't working. Many Republicans have supported this war
over the past 20 or so years, thinking that it would help to rid the
streets of drugs and, in return, crime. In the real world, it has done
nothing to decrease teens' use of marijuana, and the use of exotic drugs
like Ecstasy and the consumption of prescription pills like OxyContin have
skyrocketed.

The truth about marijuana, while it does affect many people's lives, is
that it has been medically proven to be no more harmful than the habitual
use of alcohol.

Yet hundreds of thousands of people are being put into jail every year for
possession of marijuana, sometimes for possessing even less than an eighth
of an ounce.

Who pays for these non-violent offenders to be put in jail, sometimes for
up to five years? The taxpayer, that's who.

Noel Wildenbergh

Lexington