Pubdate: Thu, 31 Jan 2013
Source: Herald, The (Everett, WA)
Copyright: 2013 Lucas Doney
Contact:  http://www.heraldnet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/190
Author: Lucas Doney

ENFORCEMENT COSTS WILL GO UP

I am concerned about the legalization of marijuana in our state for
several reasons. First, marijuana is a drug. It impacts the user's
ability to make decisions and impairs their judgment. This could put
the users and the people around them in danger. For example, a driver
who has been using marijuana will be impaired with slower reactions
behind the wheel and since there is no test for the use of marijuana,
the police cannot detect if they have been using it.

Making marijuana legal for use by adults 21 and over will expose
teenagers and children to the drug and make it more accessible to
them. This will definitely result in increased use of marijuana by the
children and teenagers of our state and will affect their ability to
focus and learn in school and at home and could place them in danger.

One of the reasons that supporters use to justify the legalization of
marijuana is that it will reduce the cost of law enforcement. I
believe that legalizing marijuana and all of the work required to
license and police its distribution and use will be more expensive to
taxpayers in our state.

I am a Boy Scout of America and legalizing marijuana goes against
everything I have learned about keeping my body clean and making good
decisions that will help keep me and those around me safe. I hope that
our legislators will reconsider this law and once again make marijuana
use illegal in our state.

Lucas Doney, 12

Snohomish
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D