Pubdate: Tue, 28 Feb 2012 Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (GA) Copyright: 2012 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Contact: http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/letters/sendletter.html Website: http://www.ajc.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/28 Author: Jon Taylor Page: 12A LEGALIZATION HAS ITS FLAWS Re: "These are not criminals" and "Why celebrate arrests?" Thursday Letters. If people have been smoking pot in college for 40 years, maybe that is part of the reason for the decline in education. I imagine the teachers' lounge nowadays is a lot different than when I went to school. The cultural revolution has indeed changed the nation's way of thinking. Quite a bit to the good =AD and some undoubtedly questionable. Do we need another legal intoxicant out on the road with alcohol and the epidemic of prescription drugs to cloud judgment? And how can we avoid supporting murderous cartels that import the "innocent" weed? There is no way to regulate who grows, ships, sells, supplies or smokes the product. Marijuana is a gateway drug. People who never would have tried drugs get started in this way. Why tempt fate? Please, can we look down the road instead of turning to instant gratification? And even if it was a slow news day, The Dallas Morning News was obligated to report current events. Jon Taylor, Fairview - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart