Pubdate: Mon, 07 Jan 2002 Source: Florida Today (FL) Copyright: 2002 Florida Today Contact: http://www.floridatoday.com/forms/services/letters.htm Website: http://www.flatoday.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/532 Author: Dan Scupin Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n013/a07.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) MARIJUANA STATUS IS THE PROBLEM Letter-writer Bob Swartz writes, "Alcohol, nicotine and marijuana are scourges that cannot be halted, only controlled to prevent adherents from harming others." What he, like most others, fails to realize is that treating marijuana as an illegal drug is the problem, not the solution. If marijuana were controlled and taxed like alcohol, our jails wouldn't be full of so-called pot heads, just like our jails are not full of gin heads or vodka heads. Prohibition is the cause of the huge black market profits. Yes, control rather than prohibition is a much better answer, but our politicians and law enforcers never will see the light. Dan Scupin, Destin - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager