Pubdate: Wed, 22 Jul 2009 Source: Los Angeles Daily News (CA) Copyright: 2009 Los Angeles Newspaper Group Contact: http://www.dailynews.com/writealetter Website: http://www.dailynews.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/246 Author: Kyle Laurent LEGAL POT WOULD SOLVE PROBLEMS Re "Keep the pot ban" (Opinionated, July 19): Again Gail-Tzipporah Saunders drops the bong, er, ball. Another conservative who thinks that they know what's best for everyone. I've had great conversations with people who were stoned. On the contrary, I can't say the same of belligerent drunks. The U.S. has spent billions of dollars incarcerating and imprisoning pot smokers. Legalization wouldn't just save money, by taxing it, California would generate over a billion dollars each year. It would help tremendously to neutralize drug cartels, the violence associated with them, and slow the roll of the street gangs. If the politicians she sometimes praises and defends did their jobs, this topic wouldn't even be on the table for discussion. Kyle Laurent Newhall - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake