POT SHOULD BE LEGALIZED

Thank you for raising awareness of marijuana's medicinal properties with
Kim Goggins' excellent article.

Not only should medical marijuana be made available to patients, but adult
recreational use should be taxed and regulated. Hazardous marijuana grow
operations are a result of prohibition, not the plant. Legitimate farmers
do not steal electricity to grow produce in the basements of rented homes.

As it stands, the drug war distorts market forces such that an easily grown
weed is literally worth its weight in gold.

Rather than continue to subsidize organized crime, policymakers should
consider regulating the sale of marijuana. Pot prohibition is far more
dangerous than pot.

Robert Sharpe, Drug Policy Alliance Washington, D.C.