Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Terry Beckmeyer writes that the perception of pot as a benign recreational drug is a distortion and that people should soberly contemplate the potential risks of marijuana ("Safety, effectiveness of marijuana remain questionable," July 27). The fact that marijuana may not be 100 percent safe is not a reason for it to be illegal.
Beckmeyer's reasoning could be applied more compellingly to the manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol. How much criminal and bad behavior can we attribute to alcohol consumption? How many tragic accidents and incidents would not have occurred but for someone being drunk? How many people destroy their health, their family's lives and ruin their careers, all because of access to alcoholic beverages? What does alcohol abuse do to insurance costs for all of us?
Still, I doubt we want Prohibition back. We tried it. It didn't work; it made things worse. Likewise, it doesn't work and makes things worse to criminalize marijuana and the people who use it. A realistic approach is to legalize, regulate and tax it, as is done with alcohol, tobacco and other "sinful" substances whose usage we may not condone.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Realistic approach is to legalize and tax marijuana | Letters to the editor | stltoday.com
Author: Christian S. Saller
Contact: St. Louis Post-Dispatch contact information | stltoday.com
Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Website: stltoday.com | the #1 St. Louis website
Beckmeyer's reasoning could be applied more compellingly to the manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol. How much criminal and bad behavior can we attribute to alcohol consumption? How many tragic accidents and incidents would not have occurred but for someone being drunk? How many people destroy their health, their family's lives and ruin their careers, all because of access to alcoholic beverages? What does alcohol abuse do to insurance costs for all of us?
Still, I doubt we want Prohibition back. We tried it. It didn't work; it made things worse. Likewise, it doesn't work and makes things worse to criminalize marijuana and the people who use it. A realistic approach is to legalize, regulate and tax it, as is done with alcohol, tobacco and other "sinful" substances whose usage we may not condone.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Realistic approach is to legalize and tax marijuana | Letters to the editor | stltoday.com
Author: Christian S. Saller
Contact: St. Louis Post-Dispatch contact information | stltoday.com
Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Website: stltoday.com | the #1 St. Louis website