I agree whole-heartedly with your analysis that we should legalize, regulate and tax marijuana. Those in my profession, police officers, could arrest many more bad guys - DUI, child predators, etc. - if we stopped wasting time on the adult cannabis smoker. The idea that "everybody wins" is not correct. Law enforcement would lose about $11 billion in overtime and grant money chasing pot smokers. That money is why lobbyists fight people like me in the halls of Congress every day. As with most of life's questions, follow the money. Howard Woolridge Washington DC [end]
Regarding marijuana prohibition, the government has an interest, nay a duty, to protect its citizens from harmful subtances they might put in their body. Thus that government imposes punishment for doing so, in the name of protecting the citizen. This is a rational course of action, if that country is run by nanny-state liberals who believe the government is the solution to all problems. Prohibition is a policy whereby the government threatens its citizens with punishment, backed up by the police, prosecutors and prisons, for anyone who steps outside the box of alcohol, tobacco, Prozac and Valium. Yes, in regards to our bodies, they are owned by the Big Brother. Detective/Officer Howard Wooldridge (retired) Drug Policy Specialist, COP [end]
Dear Editor, Mr. Hager and Stutman both left out the most vital reason to repeal marijuana prohibition; namely it reduces public safety. Every hour my colleagues spend chasing a Michael Phelps and his supplier mean less time for the deadly reckless and DUI. As detectives fly around in helicopters looking for green weeds, they are not catching child molesters and rapists. Public safety suffers as we chase the adult marijuana smoker into their home. The Hager/Stutman dog and pony show has been going on for years to help those gentlemen earn a living, not really inform the public. Detective/Officer Howard Wooldridge (retired) [end]
Dallas -- As a retired police officer and recipient of an award from MADD (making the most driving-under-the-influence arrests in my department), I was surprised by the comments of MADD's president Louise Knox (Ottawa Plans To Let Police Conduct Roadside Drug Tests -- Oct. 23). She must be unaware that road officers in the United States spend more time looking for pot in someone's car than they do arresting DUI drivers. If all officers stopped wasting time on the non-public safety threat of simply transporting marijuana, 2,000 drunk-driving deaths could be avoided each year. Marijuana prohibition reduces public safety, period. [end]
