VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
A note from an aspiring pothead
Highland Falls, NY: "In the glorious days of my misspent youth (late '60s, early '70s), one of the things I loved about New York was the drinking age -- 18 (or 16 if you were tall like me). The drinking age in all the neighboring states was 21, so the bars were always busy.
"Now we are reversed. Massachusetts and Vermont have legalized pot. New Jersey is likely to legalize next, and yet here in New York, we still have people like Kevin Sabet who continues to beat the long-dead horse ("Legalizing pot isn't worth it. NY., op-ed, Feb. 20). Sabet recites the same nonsense I have been reading for decades. I have a smart approach for him; Legalize it (thanks to Peter Tosh).
"Big Marijuana" is out to get minorities. Solution: Treat weed growers like we treat breweries and distilleries. The THC content in marijuana can be regulated, so those of us who like "Woodstock Weed" (Sabet's words) can smoke that. Not everyone goes into a bar to drink the strongest whisky.
"I volunteer to come out of both smoking and working retirement to help test the product. Capitalism will drive the price down and undercut the illegal trade. Pot taxes should reflect liquor taxes, and not be placed so high that the underground market will continue.
"I am 65 now and I don't gamble. so the money that New York is losing to New Jersey for that doesn't mean much to me. But before I get too old to enjoy it, I would sure like to see some intelligence take hold in my home state regarding weed."
Joseph Cyr.
Our arguments for the last three years: (1) Treat weed growers like we treat breweries and distilleries. The THC content in marijuana can be regulated, (2) Pot taxes should reflect liquor taxes, and not be placed so high that the underground market will continue, and (3) "Big Marijuana" is out to get minorities.
Change the law, make marijuana a main steam product on part with beer. Regulate it and tax it for the benefit of society, and take the "underground" out of the equation.
As John F. Kennedy, once said, "Change is the law of life. And those who only look to the past or present are certain to miss the future."