Pubdate: Wed, 22 Jul 2009 Source: Florida Today (Melbourne, FL) Copyright: 2009 Florida Today Contact: http://www.floridatoday.com/content/forms/services/letters.shtml Website: http://www.floridatoday.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/532 Author: James Irvin FLORIDA SHOULD DEBATE LEGALIZING MARIJUANA I think Florida's marijuana laws are too harsh. Marijuana is a much safer substance than alcohol and tobacco. We have looked past its medicinal values and economic values. The marijuana use rate has increased in the past 70 years. I think we should legalize it statewide in a violence-free market, where it can be taxed and regulated by our government. Legalizing marijuana will cause a few problems, but regulating it will help a lot of problems, such as teen use. Recent surveys have clearly shown that teenagers can get marijuana a lot easier than tobacco and alcohol. I think the state Senate should debate the legalization of marijuana and base its answer on expert studies and opinions, and not on what can't be proven. James Irvin, Sebastian - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake