Legalization Too Problematic
Dear Readers: The pros and cons of whether marijuana should be legalized roar on. I will state my position after today’s contributors have had their say.
Lompoc, Calif.: I am a drill instructor at a federal boot camp prison. A high percentage of inmates here have used marijuana. I have never met a marijuana smoker who can keep up with me. They are out of shape and can’t concentrate.
Santa Fe, N.M.: Chuck Thomas of the Marijuana Policy Project estimates that 37,000 marijuana users are in jail. At $30,000 apiece, over a billion tax dollars are spent annually to incarcerate them. Meanwhile, the real problem drugs, like alcohol and tobacco, are legal and profitable. Wake up and smell the campaign contributors.
Parchman, Miss.: If marijuana leads to other drugs, why not ban alcohol, since most people drink before they start to smoke pot? Alcohol is the real gateway drug. Legalize and tax marijuana just like liquor and cigarettes. Arrest anyone stoned in public, the same as drunks.
Slidell, La.: I’m a 16-year-old girl who has friends in jail for possession, use, distribution and other involvement with pot. One of my friends sold weed regularly to someone’s little brother, who was 8.
Keizer, Ore.: If marijuana were legal, cancer patients would have a choice between anti-nausea pills at $40 apiece and marijuana they could grow in their back yards.
La Grange, Ill.: Chuck Thomas’ idea of releasing marijuana prisoners is great, but he doesn’t go far enough. Let’s release all of the murderers, too. That will clear out countless jail cells. Free the rapists. The jail overcrowding problem will be completely solved in no time at all.
Dear Ann Landers: As chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, which has a major focus on international narcotics control, I take great issue with the suggestion that legalizing marijuana would resolve the crisis of overcrowding in our jails. It would only create more dangerous, drug-addicted criminals on our streets.
Marijuana is a gateway drug. By legalizing marijuana, we would increase the number of cocaine and heroin addicts as well. In some cities, over 80 percent of child abuse killings are related to the use of cocaine. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that criminals commit six times as many homicides, four times as many assaults and almost one-and-a-half times as many robberies when under the influence of drugs. Experiments with legalization in Europe have proven unsuccessful, leading to higher crime rates, higher addiction rates and higher health costs.
Our nation is facing a drug epidemic. Instead of legalization, we need to help our kids resist the temptation of these deadly substances. Legalization is the path of least resistance and would lead to a devastating future for millions of America’s children.- Sen. Paul D. Coverdell of Georgia
Dear Sen. Coverdell: I can add nothing to your statement except my thanks for saying it so well. Long-term prevention, education and treatment programs are the way to combat the drug problem in this country. I’ve given this matter a great deal of thought. While not all pot users go on to harder drugs, the vast majority of hard-drug users start with marijuana. I do feel that marijuana should be made available for medical needs, since this serves a humane purpose. However, while legalization might help reduce the crime associated with marijuana, it would almost certainly increase the number of users.