I do support legalizing marijuana. I think that by legalizing marijuana, it would stop a good portion of the crimes we see and put a lot of drug dealers out of business and not to mention the taxes the state would collect from the sales.

No matter what we do, the people who smoke marijuana are going to do it -- legal or not -- so why shouldn't state benefit from it.

It is also my opinion that marijuana is far safer than alcohol. Marijuana is not physically addicting nor does it impair your judgment like alcohol does. A person may have a mental addiction or craving for marijuana but alcohol far surpasses it, with not only a mental craving for it, but also a physical addiction that can kill you in a number of ways.

I don't think I have ever read about a car accident being caused by someone who had been smoking marijuana. It's almost always caused by alcohol, texting or talking on your cell phone. Even though the law is clear about not using your cell phone while driving, I still see loads of drivers talking on their cells while driving. Why are police not enforcing this law?

I occasionally smoked marijuana as a kid but that was years ago, so I do feel I have some knowledge on how the body reacts to smoking it. I say let's put those dealers out of business and make marijuana legal!

-- Suzie Kelly, West Richland