Pubdate: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 Source: Northwest Florida Daily News (FL) Copyright: 2002 Northwest Florida Daily News Contact: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/313 Author: Stephen Heath A COLOSSAL WASTE Letter writer John Chase ("Not the solution," April 5) was right on the money - literally. Your article of April 2 ("Deputies putting a stop to pot") described how deputies in three counties are joined by a helicopter pilot to detect and eradicate the "demon weed," marijuana. In testimony given during a June 1999 medical marijuana trial in Levy County, a police helicopter pilot stated that more than 70 such helicopters are used regularly throughout Florida. Such operations not only cost Florida taxpayers enormous amounts of money, they also divert law enforcement officers from far more productive work in terms of actually protecting and serving the public. A report just issued by Texas NORML detailed that marijuana prohibition laws cost the state of Texas more than $3 billion annually for law enforcement, criminal trials, incarceration costs and probation supervision. In addition, it considered the lost revenue that could otherwise be gained if marijuana were moved into a taxed and regulated marketplace and removed from the current underground, criminal-controlled marketplace. It is reasonable to state that Florida bears similar costs based on its size difference compared with Texas. It's time to end the War on Marijuana and reconsider the colossal waste of our tax dollars spent arresting Floridians who grow a politically incorrect plant. STEPHEN HEATH Drug Policy Forum of Florida Clearwater - --- MAP posted-by: SHeath(DPFFlorida)