MARIJUANA SHOULD BE LEGALIZED, TAXED

[Cure20]

I'm writing about Jason Ziedenberg's outstanding Tuesday column: "Anti-pot spending just goes up in smoke."

Our government is wasting countless billions attempting to eradicate an easy-to-grow weed that at least 90 million Americans have used. The net result is that marijuana is just as available today as it was in the 1970s.

Instead of attempting to nullify the immutable law of supply and demand, our government should regulate, control and tax marijuana. We could easily tax it at about 90 percent of its retail price, the vast majority of which is the result of the "prohibition tax," now going to organized crime.

If marijuana were regulated, controlled, taxed and sold in licensed business establishments like alcohol and tobacco, we would close the gateway to hard drugs.

When I was a marijuana user, which was more than 15 years ago, I was frequently offered free samples of other, much more dangerous drugs, like cocaine and speed. Yet I've never been offered a free sample of whiskey or vodka or any other type of hard liquor when buying beer or wine.

For the sake of our children we should regulate, control and tax the unregulated drugs.

KIRK MUSE

MESA