LTE: Taxpayers not served by this reefer madness
Kudos to the Journal Sentinel for raising the issue of marijuana legalization (“Time for a blunt conversation,” Crossroads, Dec. 2). The politicians of both major parties in Wisconsin seem largely devoid of reason in this regard. They have not even had the human decency to legalize medical marijuana.
Crime was associated with alcohol when it was illegal. Once prohibition ended, the Al Capone types were out of the picture and the related violence went away. So it is today from the Mexican cartels to the street gangs. End the drug war and their source of funding disappears. The violence associated with illegal drugs is generally due to prohibition itself.
Those who support marijuana prohibition typically present illogical arguments. No one in their right mind condones minors using marijuana or parents allowing such. That has nothing to do with what should be legal for adults. The tax revenue that Wisconsin could generate by legalizing both marijuana and hemp, along with saving the law enforcement costs of prohibition, make this an obvious move.
Liberty and prohibition are antithetical. We the taxpayers are not served by this reefer madness. Certainly, our police should focus on pedophiles, rapists, etc., real criminals, rather than enforcing marijuana prohibition. Common sense, unfortunately, isn’t all that common.
Bernard Dalsey
WhitewaterÂ
Source:Â http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/letters04-ul7t08v-181922771.html
