Regarding "Legalization of marijuana won't bring out our best," (Page B7, Saturday), David Brooks is a common-sense journalist who grinds no axes, and he is correct to say that intoxication can, and often does, deplete human accomplishment and self-respect. But that is not to say that all things that might be misused can or must be against the law.

Dietary health ills cannot be tackled effectively by criminalizing fat, sugar and refined flour. Prohibition of alcohol famously proved futile. Many would say that laws against pot foster the allure of the forbidden and promote a lucrative drug trade that costs lives.

[continues 122 words]