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FREEDOM TO CHOOSE

In response to "What's the worst that could happen: Marijuana is legalized," by Jackson Rohrbaugh.  May 28:

Shouldn't adult citizens have the freedom to choose what goes into their own bodies in the privacy of their own homes? Why are alcohol and cigarettes the only legal intoxicant?

Imagine if the United States was once again the "Land of the Free" instead of the most incarcerated nation in the history of human civilization.

Imagine if the American people could feel safe and secure in their own homes and on the streets of our cities and towns throughout the United States.

Imagine if we had no "drug-related crime." Imagine if our overall crime rate was a small fraction of our current crime rate.

We once had such a situation here in the United States.  Prior to the passage of the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914, the term "drug-related crime" didn't exist.  And drug lords, drug cartels or even drug dealers as we know them today didn't exist either.

Back then, all types of recreational drugs were legally sold to anybody with no questions asked, for pennies per dose in grocery stores and pharmacies.

Did we have a lot more drug addicts then, compared to now? No.

We had about the same percentage of our population addicted to drugs according to U.S.  Federal Judge John L.  Kane of Colorado.

For the sake of our children, can we re-legalize our now-illegal drugs and sell them through licensed business establishments? This would put the drug dealers and drug lords out of business overnight.

Darral Good

Seattle, Wash.