Legalizing marijuana; the food stamp program; the closing of Kansas City high schools

Marijuana measure

Re “Bid to legalize pot use nears ballot,” March 24

Legalize pot? Why not? Present policies don’t solve problems -- and crooks, small and large, pick up the profits.

But placing restrictions on sales would mean less control and sales tax for the state, with the profits going elsewhere. And where would that be? Some equivalent of liquor stores, liquor distributors, liquor manufacturers?

Instead, let’s be pragmatic and set up state stores on the order of “package stores.” That would make regulation easier and give the state the full profits.

I’d definitely vote for that.

Les Boston
Sherman Oaks

John Lovell, who lobbies for drug warriors, objects to legalizing marijuana because it would “add yet another mind-altering substance to the legal array.”

In case Lovell has missed it, marijuana is already here. Prisons and narcs have failed to curb marijuana use.

If Lovell says anything about “protecting children” as a reason for keeping marijuana illegal, I remind him that current prohibition efforts have failed to such an extent that any high school kid can easily get all the marijuana he or she can pay for.

Lovell’s only purpose is to preserve jobs for overpaid prison guards and useless narcotics officers. Current marijuana law enforcement costs Californians hundreds of millions every year. Considering the dismal financial status of our state, Lovell’s phony reefer madness policies are no longer affordable.

Lovell cannot provide a truthful reason for continuing to outlaw marijuana for adult use.

Floyd Krautner
Bakersfield

“Opponents . . . are emphasizing the danger of drugged drivers” increasing if pot isn’t kept illegal.

Then do we address the danger of talking on cellphones while driving by outlawing all cellphones? Wouldn’t it make more sense simply to outlaw cellphone use while driving?

Oh, right . . .

Tom Gorman
Monrovia

If Californians think legalizing and taxing pot will solve their economic woes, they should think again. The increased billions in health and social expenditures related to expanded marijuana use would be more than any revenue generated.

By far the most compelling economic argument against the taxation of marijuana is the skyrocketing societal cost. We have seen and paid for the effects tobacco and alcohol have had on society. Judging from past experience, marijuana would follow the same path.

Marijuana entrepreneurs and supporters of this campaign don’t care about California residents or California’s most valuable resource -- its children. They are in this to make money and to profit off the innocent.

If passed, this initiative will lead to the destruction of neighborhoods. It will lead to more domestic violence and child abuse. It will lead to more addiction.

Calvina Fay
Seminole, Fla.
The writer is executive director of the Drug Free America Foundation.

When children reach their 4th birthdays knowing rudimentary shapes, colors, numbers and the sounds of letters used to make words, they tend to do well in school later.

I can’t envision parents who are stoned on pot being able to teach them those things.

Even the best teachers can’t fix everything.

Wendell H. Jones
Ojai

Focus on food stamps

Re “Food stamp funds sit idle,” March 21

In addition to the barriers discussed in The Times’ excellent article on food stamps, there could be another reason for the low utilization of the program: its name.

Some have been ashamed to present food stamps at the grocery store checkout stand, even though actual stamps have been eliminated. Participants now pay with a card that looks and acts like any other debit card, but the state, county and media still call it the “food stamp” program.

A name change is under consideration in California and in Los Angeles County. It could not come soon enough.

We should not attach a stigma to this important program. Better utilization would bring food to the table of those in need and millions of dollars into our community -- a true win-win.

James Adler
Los Angeles
The author is a member of the Los Angeles County Public Social Services Commission.

Thailand’s future

Re “Will a king’s death kill Thailand’s democracy?” Opinion, March 21

Stanley A. Weiss’ Op-Ed article raised issues related to Thailand’s politics and monarchy on which I feel obliged to comment.

First, Thai democracy -- despite ups and downs over the last seven decades -- has continuously become more mature. Political demonstrations of recent years, though viewed by some as unsettling, reflect increased political awareness among the public.

Second, Thailand has had a designated heir to the throne since 1972. There is no cause for uncertainty and no warranted basis for speculation that anyone other than that heir will rise to the throne, and it is neither appropriate nor professional to prejudge, based on rumors and conjecture, what the next reign will be like.

That the issue is difficult for Thais to discuss is not because of the so-called lese-majeste law but because, when the country has had such a beloved king for so long, it is normal that people may feel anxiety about a change.

For Thais, regardless of their political affiliations, the monarchy will always remain one of the main institutions holding the country together.

Damrong Kraikruan
Los Angeles
The writer is consul general, Royal Thai Consulate, Los Angeles.

K.C. schools, now and then

Re “Bell tolls for K.C. schools,” March 20

How sad to read the front-page report of Kansas City’s closure of nearly half of its high schools.

Your article featured my alma mater, Westport High School, from which I graduated as valedictorian in June 1941. The contrast between the current school district and the one that existed in those days is truly unbelievable.

At that time, Kansas City was acknowledged to have the finest school district in Missouri, and Westport High was known to be the top school in the district.

The curriculum was college preparatory. The teachers were outstanding. Many graduating seniors received scholarships to colleges and universities throughout the country, including me. I attended USC and graduated magna cum laude.

Who can blame parents for fleeing a school district in which “Afrikan-Centered Education” is a focus of the curriculum? The majority of parents, regardless of race or ethnicity, want their children to have a solid education that will enable them to succeed in life.

The situation in the Kansas City school system is a microcosmic example of the deterioration of the educational system throughout the U.S.

Colleen Phipps Kirst
Santa Barbara