Pubdate: Sat, 01 Mar 2014
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2014 The Dallas Morning News, Inc.
Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/send-a-letter/
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Author: Gary Schornick
Page: 20A

LEGALIZATION WILL CREATE MONSTER

I read with much amusement all the articles and letters recently about
legalizing marijuana and how legalizing pot will somehow end the drug
war. If you believe that, you must be smoking way too much of the stuff.

People much smarter than you and me recognize the drug war as a chess
match. If we legalize marijuana, then the cartels will simply start
dumping cheap meth and black-tar heroin on the market and an entirely
new generation of users will be created. You've solved one problem and
created a whole new monster, another unintended consequence of
feel-good policy.

And will legalizing marijuana lead to a decline in the prison
population? Think about it. The vast majority of prisoners are there
for distribution of narcotics, not recreational use. Bottom line: This
is how they make money. If pot is legalized, do you think they're
going to go to work at McDonald's? Not hardly. They simply find
another drug to fill the void.

Think about this the next time you light up.

The government didn't create the drug war.

You did.

Gary Schornick, The Colony