Pubdate: Tue, 03 May 2016
Source: Kamloops This Week (CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Kamloops This Week
Contact:  http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1271
Author: Garnet Schneider

MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION A BAD IDEA

Editor:

I have an understanding of the issues in policing, fines and 
convictions associated with illegal use of marijuana.

However, I believe legalization to be a big mistake.

Marijuana is addictive and can be, in many cases, a gateway drug to 
harsher drugs.

It affects short-term memory and regular users, in most cases, become 
lazy and have very little drive or ambition.

The biggest problem I see is that in time, once a generation has 
grown up with legalization (20 years or so), marijuana will be used 
regularly by most people.

Why? Because it's legal.

We will have stoned people driving cars and trucks, operating machine 
and missing time from work.

We will also have social and medical issues associated with legalization.

Taxes collected will pale in comparison to the cost of the issues I 
have listed.

We haven't learned our lessons from alcohol and gambling.

These were illegal at one time and only a small portion of the 
population indulged.

Now they are legal and addictions are all around us.

To our shame, we now have the government actually promoting gambling.

What will be next - the government telling us pot is good for us?

This is my opinion, of course; others are entitled to theirs.

Garnet Schneider Kamloops
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom