Pubdate: Thu, 21 Jul 2016 Source: Chico News & Review, The (CA) Copyright: 2016 Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact: https://www.newsreview.com/chico/contactLetter2editor Website: http://www.newsreview.com/chico/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/559 Author: William Todd-Mancillas END THIS WAR, TOO One of the benefits of ending the bankrupt war on marijuana would be making money available for truly needed programs. Instead of spending hundreds of millions of dollars on investigating, arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating marijuana "criminals," we could instead upgrade infrastructure (roads, bridges, buildings), further beautify parks and beaches, support sustainable energy research, hire more teachers, reduce tuition, award scholarships, more effectively steward natural resources, safeguard retirement portfolios, improve and expand drug abuse rehabilitation services, increase medical research, award grants to the arts, museums and other nonprofits, subsidize Medicare for All, etc. Those presently employed in occupations dependent upon the drug wars-DEA and allied agencies, for-profit prison staffs, prison guards, probation and parole personnel-would take financial hits until alternative employment became available. However, that would be a good problem to have. We incarcerate more and a higher percentage of citizenry than any other country, nearly 2.2 million. Moreover, a hugely disproportionate percentage of California's prisoners are black or Hispanic, an injustice requiring extensive remedy. As with all wars, ending this one would be triumphant. William Todd-Mancillas Chico - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom