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Letters to the editor: Issue of Jan. 24, 2013

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Problems with legalizing pot

I am in complete agreement with Will Wooton (Jan. 17) that legalizing pot won’t unburden legal system.

Legalizing pot will simple create new laws that will have to enforced and will be broken such as “selling or furnishing minors with pot,” and of course the states will want their part so importing pot from south of the border will continue to be a crime.

My other concern is giving precious farmland and water resources to grow pot instead of food. This will truly show where our priorities are.

Barbara Ford,

Poway

Columnist benefits from pot stance

Prohibition has an unbroken record of dismal failure in free societies, but there are certain interest groups that profit from it. Criminal gangs and law enforcement agencies are obvious examples, but they’re not the only ones.

The column from Will Wooton in the Jan. 17 issue (“Legalizing pot won’t unburden legal system”) purports to purvey The Straight Dope, but it’s clear his spin is crooked. Consider the source.

Wooton is director of Pacific Treatment Services, a rehab center that exploits another angle of the prohibition business. He’s trying to protect his revenue stream by arguing against the legalization of cannabis. He’s right about one thing, however; cannabis will soon be legalized in California and throughout the nation.

It’s a free country, and the American people have come to realize that marijuana prohibition is just as wrong, just as stupid, and just as immoral as was alcohol prohibition. We are currently in the process of repealing it.

Get used to it, Will. And don’t worry about your gravy train. There will still be plenty of rehab business opportunities for you, for drugs that really are dangerous and addictive. You’ll still have alcohol, and oxycontin, and meth bringing in the customers.

You might recommend they start smoking ganja instead. It can be quite therapeutic.

Gerold Firl,

Poway

Not pleased with Filner

I am so disgusted that one of the first actions San Diego Mayor Bob Filner took was to send a memo to the police chief and city attorney to stop code enforcement pertaining to “pot shops.” What other ordinances, codes and/or laws can we anticipate Mayor Filner to expunge from the City of San Diego Charter in the next four years?

When the majority of voters on government assistance outnumber the wage earners in a county, this is the type of governance everyone gets. My hopes are we survive these next four years and have better judgment in the next election.

Kathy Tuttle,

Rancho Bernardo

An alternative gun plan

My concern for the current proposal of banning the assault weapons is that it will create a black market for the weapons.

Other things to consider with this legislation are: The people who pay for a criminal’s defense are the taxpayers. The people who make money from criminals are the court system, the attorneys and the judges.

Here is another idea:

  1. Establish, through the National Rifle Association, a gun club that licenses all guns by levels. The club will operate out of a shooting range. When a person has been trained to operate a particular level of gun and they are psychologically tested, they will be allowed to purchase that gun for the level they are trained for. If they desire to own another level of gun they must return to the gun club and again be trained before they can own that level of gun.
  2. Have the law read so that all persons in the household must be psychologically tested before ownership is allowed.
  3. All rapid fire (assault) weapons must have the firing mechanism removed while in the home and locked up in a separate location. It could be stored in the gun club or in a safety deposit box.
  4. All gun owners must have insurance to cover the loss that may occur as a result of their weapon whether it is in their possession or not. Therefore it would work like uninsured motorist insurance. In addition if a firearm is stolen, the insurance would cover it only if the weapon is reported stolen within 48 hours. If not reported, the owner would be personally liable.

Janet Ball Reed,Poway

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