Pubdate: Sun, 03 Oct 2010 Source: Napa Valley Register (CA) Copyright: 2010 David Coulombe Contact: http://www.napavalleyregister.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/736 Author: David Coulombe LEGALIZED POT WON'T SOLVE CALIFORNIA'S PROBLEMS Dear editor, I had a great time reading the paper on Monday. California politics is always extremely entertaining. "California divided on legalization of marijuana cash crop" (Sept. 27) was one of the best. The funniest part for me is the notion that legalizing and taxing marijuana would help California dig out of our economic black hole. Proposition 19 supporters are supposing that our politicians will not continue to spend more tax money than we take in. Oh. You're killing me. That's a good one! Hey, bulletin for you: If everyone can grow 25 square feet of pot garden, why would anyone buy it? And, if we are growing it ourselves, who is going to pay taxes on it? I grow tomatoes, will I have to start paying taxes on my tomatoes? Oh wait, it's not food, you can't tax it. "But it's an ingredient in my brownies!" Speaking of brownies, I have a great slogan for Proposition 19 supporters: "Vote for Prop. 19, because we're not fat and stupid enough already!" My guess is that the smart money is buying stocks in Hostess, Keebler and other snack companies. That's where the state could reel in some serious taxes. Snack cakes, Ding-Dongs, Ho-Hos. With the projected obesity rate of 86 percent by 2030, this should help keep us on track. It seems that we already have bad memories, and the stuff isn't even legal yet. Remember the studies linking marijuana use to lung damage, lazy confused sperm, no motivation, and oh yeah, memory loss? Once again, California is courageously leading the nation. I think the governor had it right when he said that we'd be a laughingstock if we passed this proposition. You can't get much more comic relief that politics in California. But this one, oh yeah, this one is a side-splitter. Legalize pot, and pay down the debt! You're killing me! David Coulombe / Napa - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D