Letter: Tax, Regulate Marijuana
Dan Linn
August 1, 2008
Galesburg Register-Mail
Illinois should tax and regulate cannabis similar to alcohol to generate income for the state and local governments.
Why are we arresting otherwise law-abiding citizens for their recreational use of cannabis. Isn't this a free country? Arresting responsible cannabis users wastes tax dollars and the 70-year cannabis prohibition needs to be repealed. Responsible users are not the problem and should not be punished. There will be those who break laws while under the influence of cannabis and they should be punished, being high is no better an excuse than being drunk. Alcohol prohibition did not work, it led to an increased organized crime and did not deter its use, and similarly cannabis prohibition is not working. Why don’t we end cannabis prohibition and allow our citizens to use it responsibly just like they are allowed to use alcohol responsibly. Most who want to keep cannabis illegal do so to protect children and that is a very noble cause.
However, adults should be allowed to consume cannabis responsibly, yet there should be age limits on its use like there are with other substances that we try to protect children from. It is not the government’s place to protect its citizens from willingly using a substance that has not one documented overdose fatality and is safer than many commonly available substances. Plus, drug dealers do not card children when they buy cannabis, but if it were sold like alcohol or tobacco the retailer would need age verification and face penalties for noncompliance. End cannabis prohibition, tax and regulate marijuana.
Dan Linn, executive director, Illinois Chapter of the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (Illinois NORML), Chicago |
