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Let's get a grip on dangerous drugs. Crack is dangerous, Heroin is dangerous. Abusers of these drugs commit violent crimes to sustain their drug habits. Then they get sick and cost the taxpayer a lot of money. They steal money from the taxpayer in many ways during their abbreviated lifetime.

People who like a bit of alcohol and some social fun go to their neighborhood bar. People who want to have some fun and enjoy the effect of marijuana have to hide. Marijuana is illegal unless one is very ill and needs to ameliorate chronic pain. We are encouraged to believe one is more dangerous to the public than the other.

The effect of alcohol over a lifetime is very poor health and potentially early death. If used too often Marijuana may cause health problems too. It is not easily accessible, but used by a large segment of the population anyway, therefore making many people criminals.

Because Marijuana is illegal, law enforcement must handle the offending public. Perhaps law enforcement funds would be better utilized by them sticking to handling violent crime.

At the very least Marijuana should be decriminalized so as to keep gangs and criminals from profiteering on it's use. Then, new laws can be written to manage the production of Marijuana, rather than punish the people who use the drug to enhance social pleasure in the same way alcohol is used.

And there is another item to be decriminalized....for everyone's benefit.

We don't have to approve of their choice of professions, however prostitution has been with us for a very long time, and likely to be with us even longer. They should at least be disease free. Prostitutes should be legally liable to get tested for various health problems, as they would be if their "profession" was governed by law instead of being hounded by it.

Let's be fair to the public and at the same time, give law enforcement more time and money to deal with violent crime by removing the offenses of marijuana and prostitution from their jurisdiction.

Prohibition didn't work the way it was intended, and criminals were enormously enriched by providing what the public wanted and couldn't get legally. People always get what they want, so let's keep access to Marijuana and prostitution clearly decriminalized. Not necessarily legal, just decriminalized. We should be collecting tax money on both marijuana and prostitution!

Let's give law enforcement some help by giving them more money to fight against violent crime.
At least give them a fighting chance to keep us all safe, by eliminating some of their more frivolous assignments. People will make their recreational choices. Should they be penalized or allowed the same freedom people have to make different choices?

Learn more about this author, Jacquie Schmall.
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