While the wisdom of legalizing marijuana may be debatable, the reason for such action cannot be (and it is not) the one put forward by Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson. (Feb. 9 article, “Lawmakers push for marijuana legalization”).
The very fact that a substance is illegal drives its street price high, and addicts and heavy users often will resort to burglary, robbery or prostitution to obtain the money for their daily fix. Legalization, if done right, would eliminate the middleman, the drug pusher, by making the substance inexpensive enough so those people would no longer have to resort to crime to feed their habit.
This would not only take a burden off law enforcement, but also on the judicial system and prisons. But what is Olympia after? A new revenue source! If the state liquor stores are any example, the state will set marijuana prices so high that it may be less expensive for users to go back to their dealers. Will politicians ever learn that you cannot and should not fund state programs on sin taxes?
Frank J. Baumann
Snohomish
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