To the Editor:

As a former San Jose narcotics detective who spent years arresting people for marijuana and other drugs, I appreciated Ally Mengarelli’s insightful discussion of cannabis regulation (“Legalize It-November 2010,” April 21) in The Pacifican.

She accurately described the social and economic benefits that legalized regulation will bring, including increased revenue for California and lower crime rates. Cannabis regulation will allow police officers to focus limited law enforcement resources on violent crime and other genuine threats. Regulation would also result in greater availability of funding to support higher education and college students.

Today, the biggest winners from cannabis prohibition are the gangs and cartels that control the market. The ballot measure gives Californians what we need to put those gangs out of business.

Sincerely,

Russ Jones

Russ Jones, a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com, spent 30 years waging the “war on drugs,” including 10 years as a San Jose narcotics detective.

Published in : Perspectives, Volume 101: Issue 31