Opinion: In Wednesday’s Letters to the editor
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In Tuesday’s Letters to the editor, readers react to this Patt Morrison Op-Ed about taxing marijuana.
As with all stories about pot, most of the mail we received argued in favor of legalizing the drug, including this letter from former prosecutor James Anthony, of Oakland:
Patt Morrison says legalizing marijuana wouldn’t necessarily eliminate pot-related crime because there still might be a black market -- as there is with legal alcohol and tobacco. Though that may be true, without question the majority of the criminal market would disappear. What consumer wouldn’t be willing to pay a slight premium for the convenience of purchasing marijuana from a safe and regulated facility instead of running the risk of being hurt or killed in an illegal drug deal on the streets? As a former Oakland community prosecutor, I certainly would never argue that marijuana is completely benign or that more people should use it. But what I do know is that the most dangerous thing about marijuana is that it’s illegal. Public safety will be improved immensely when we bankrupt most of the criminals who control marijuana cultivation and profits.
More on gay marriage, terror training in Pakistan, and new columnist Hector Tobar’s return to the United States, too.
Marijuana leaf photographed by Karen Tapia of the Los Angeles Times.