In the Great Marijuana Fight, facts are portrayed as fiction and vice versa. Even the power of logic is challenged. The letter writer ("Fiction and facts on marijuana," March 25) asserts that as "people 20-29 years" opt for marijuana over alcohol, this will result in fewer traffic accidents, "since alcohol is the main factor in these crashes. Furthermore, traffic accidents have fallen 9 percent in the states that have legalized marijuana." He cites the Department of Economics at University of Colorado.

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What if Vermont legalized recreational marijuana? A report from the Rand Corp., commissioned by Gov. Peter Shumlin - in anticipation of legislative action - addresses that question, including an assessment of the potential for the state to make some money off the weed.

Rand looked at the likelihood of Vermont becoming a destination for marijuana buyers from out of state.

Here we learn, "There are more than 1 million U.S. current (past-month) marijuana users within a two-hour drive of Vermont and 5 million within 500 miles ... Visitors from surrounding states and Canada present an opportunity in terms of tax and fee revenue from marijuana sales and complementary goods but a potentially very large burden in terms of public nuisance, traffic safety, and enforcement costs."

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