Pubdate: Sun, 30 Mar 2014
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2014 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
Author: Paul Miller
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n283/a03.html

LEGAL - AND REGULATED - POT

Re: "Don't let Colorado's pot experiment draw in kids" by Steve Blow, 
Thursday Metro column.

While I agree with Mr. Blow and his other commentators that keeping 
marijuana and other drugs away from teenagers is critically 
important, I strongly disagree with the idea implicit in his column 
that legalization works against this goal.

The nature of a black market, like that for drugs, is that nobody is 
turned away. Anyone who wishes to buy is constrained only by the 
morals of his chosen dealer. There is nothing now that keeps Texas 
teens, and indeed younger children, from buying pot or any other drug 
their dealer is selling. A legal market, on the other hand, allows 
for regulation at the source and makes it much harder for children to 
take part. We've already learned this with cigarettes and alcohol. 
Ask your teenage children which is easiest for them to get: pot, beer 
or cigarettes?

I don't know how the experiments going on in Colorado and Washington 
will work out, but if properly operated they will reduce black market 
sales, and concomitant access by teens.

Paul Miller, Lewisville
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom