Pubdate: Sat, 10 Jul 2010 Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI) Copyright: 2010 Star Advertiser Contact: http://www.staradvertiser.com/info/Star-Advertiser_Letter_to_the_Editor.html Website: http://www.staradvertiser.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5154 Author: Phil Robertson MARIJUANA HARMLESS UNLESS IT'S ILLEGAL We have had the prohibition of marijuana for 73 years and a black market valued at about $50 billion per year in this country. Much of this money goes to the violent Mexican drug cartels. Legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes would create legal jobs, much the same as in the tobacco and liquor industries. Anywhere between 50 and 60 percent of our country's population admit trying marijuana. The true percentage is probably considerably higher. If marijuana is harmful, then where are all the birth defects, the paranoid schizophrenics, the bank robberies and stolen car rings attributable solely to marijuana addiction? Phil Robertson Kailua - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart