Marijuana is called a gateway drug, an accusation never scientifically confirmed, suggesting the use of pot inevitably leads users toward more addictive substances. Illegal pot only links users to criminals promoting more addictive illegal substances ["Incidents cited to show pot dangers," Local, Oct. 11].

If marijuana is a gateway, it's in exactly the sense described by the historian Ken Burns in the TV series Prohibition and portrayed in the TV series Boardwalk Empire. As with alcohol in the 1920s, illegal marijuana is a gateway to a society in contempt of law and a world in which public officials become targets for large-scale corruption.

[continues 55 words]