Pubdate: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 Source: Orlando Sentinel (FL) Section: My Word Copyright: 2010 Orlando Sentinel Contact: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/325 Author: Herb Hardin Note: Herb Hardin lives in Maitland. LET'S TALK ABOUT LEGALIZING MARIJUANA Perhaps the time has come for the government to consider legalizing marijuana and treating its use and sale the same as alcoholic beverages. I have never used it or knowingly been around anybody smoking it, but it appears that almost anyone who has a desire to use it could buy some. The billions of dollars a year in largely illegal sales - medical marijuana is legally sold in some states - are going directly to drug cartels and criminals. Several states control the sale of alcoholic beverages by allowing those beverages to be sold only through state owned and operated stores. This could be done with marijuana, and the state would then become the beneficiary of any profit and taxes received. Laws would have to be enacted similar to those pertaining to alcoholic beverages, such as, no sales to minors. Legalizing marijuana and permitting only legal sales through state-run retail facilities would have one major impact, and that would be to fight the real problem - the widespread use of illegal, addictive narcotics. The profits and taxes received at these retail stores could be used to fight the real war on drugs, primarily to fund rehabilitation facilities to help alleviate this country's apparent insatiable demand for these illegal products. One does not have to be an economist to understand that the abundance of illegal narcotics is a result of the demand, and until that demand is reduced, the problem will only get worse. Of course, reducing the demand for illegal drugs is only part of the solution. Increasing law-enforcement personnel, enacting stiffer penalties for drug dealers, assuring that time served would be in a no-frills penitentiary, executing so-called drug kingpins, offering more work-force screenings and increasing drug education in the school system all could benefit from these funds. My point is not to be an advocate for the legalization of marijuana, as no reasonable person should take a position on it until all the facts have been presented. Rather, I want to raise the issue that there has to be a way to stem the enormous amount of money that is being funneled to illegal operations and divert it to where it could do some good. Maybe that old saying, "Fight fire with fire," would be appropriate if the money received from the sale of marijuana could be used to fight the big fire, which is crime and narcotics. I would hope that sometime in the near future, debates will be aired, public input will be received and hearings will be held to evaluate the pros and cons of legalization. Herb Hardin lives in Maitland. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D