Pubdate: Mon, 06 Jan 2014
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2013 The Dallas Morning News, Inc.
Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/send-a-letter/
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n007/a02.html
Author: Suzanne Wills

Re: "Colorado lights up grand experiment - On groundbreaking law's 
first day, lines long, future unsure," Thursday news story.

LEGALIZATION GOOD FOR BUSINESS

Congratulations to Colorado for opting out of the federal 
government's 76 year old-not at all grand-experiment with marijuana 
prohibition.

It has resulted in millions of people being denied a useful herbal 
medicine, building the largest prison system in the history of the 
world, corruption at every level of government and the rise of gangs 
of brutal thugs to supply the demand. All at a cost of more than a 
trillion dollars.

In 2012 when Colorado and Washington were set to vote on legalizing 
marijuana the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness estimated that if 
the measure passed in only one state it would result in an annual 
loss to the drug trafficking organizations of $1.4 billion.

Much of that money will now to redirected to locally owned Colorado 
businesses. The state estimates they will generate $77 million per 
year in tax revenues. Millions more will be saved by not enforcing 
needless laws.

Thanks, Colorado, for a return to normalcy.

Suzanne Wills, Drug Policy Forum of Texas
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom