Pubdate: Fri, 15 Mar 2013 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2013 Postmedia Network Inc. Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html Website: http://www.theprovince.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Author: Jorgen Hansen Page 17 SMOKE AND MIRRORS Everyone thinks legalized pot will cure all our overspending and will bring in so many new taxes but this is a dream. Legalized pot only works if everyone is "free" to grow all they need. If there is a market for pot in an area of the U.S. where pot is not legal, then this market will pay for our pot. Then, as long as there are customers, organized gangs will get involved in selling pot and we're back where we started. What irritates the government is the fact that pot is not taxable and the government has no control. Since it is so expensive to chase pot and drug users, maybe we should legalize all drugs and sell them at the farmers' market. Who really cares what people want to inhale, jam into their veins or make cookies with. Education is probably the most sensible way to inform young people where drugs can lead. Jorgen Hansen, Kelowna - --- MAP posted-by: Matt