Pubdate: Wed, 05 Aug 2009
Source: Desert Sun, The (Palm Springs, CA)
Copyright: 2009 The Desert Sun
Contact: http://local2.thedesertsun.com/mailer/opinionwrap.php
Website: http://www.mydesert.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1112
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Author: Christopher Gore

LEGALIZATION WILL CUT CONSUMPTION

Lee Weigel, you might as well just come out and say that you don't 
believe marijuana users are seeking permission to use it as a 
medicine, and they just want to get high.

Well, that is the problem. I guess you feel that cigarettes and 
alcohol are already bad enough, and we don't need kids smoking pot 
legally to add to the problem. But, you are ignoring that pot is 
significantly less dangerous than either alcohol or tobacco, and that 
legalizing it will not make it any easier to acquire than popping in 
to visit the local drug dealer is right now.

Not to mention the benefits of taxation, where money is diverted from 
the black market profiteers to the government coffers. It's a no-brainer.

If you are worried that kids will get the wrong idea and it will lead 
to use of other drugs, well guess what? It is currently very easy to 
get any drug because drug dealers know the demand is there, and 
legalization actually sends a very different message. Just as alcohol 
consumption decreased after Prohibition was repealed, so will pot 
smoking become less fashionable as the "taboo" stigma disappears. 
This is Psych 101.

Christopher Gore

Cathedral City
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart