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Treat pot smoking like cigarettes

Re: Metchosin weighs in on legalizing pot, News, Jan. 18, 2012.

Re: Metchosin weighs in on legalizing pot, News, Jan. 18, 2012.

The move of several municipalities to urge the legalization of cannabis will, I hope, have some influence of national policy, or at least police enforcement.

It is common sense to deal with cannabis as we deal with nicotine, since it is both less harmful than nicotine, and has in some cases medical benefits.

Both these reasons have personal significance for me. I lost my elder son to a nicotine related heart attack, and I now have a medical condition which cannabis would ameliorate.  (My doctor, while approving of the use of medical cannabis, is forbidden by his malpractice insurance to prescribe it.)

As has been remarked, a young man will go to prison with a BA in stupidity, and come out with an MA in criminality, gained at taxpayer expense.

The federal omnibus crime bill will be a social and economic disaster. At least cannabis should be removed from that bill.

J. McRee Elrod

Metchosin