Dear Editor: It is early Monday morning and you do not want to go to work, class, etc. In fact, you are downright despondent about the prospect.

You look over, and there is the great mood elevator sitting right on your nightstand.

A few puffs to make the day better, to put some positive shine on your day; why not?

After the wake and bake, you are off to your car – maybe. The couch is looking real good, and “America’s Funniest Animals” is on right now.

Of course, if you get to your car, you are now driving while under the influence of a substance which you may not be accustomed to, which can refract your senses, and causes slowed reaction times.

We all have times when we need to find motivation or we need to get in a better mood. Traditionally, we might go for a run, listen to music, call a friend or use whatever personal mechanism we are accustomed to.

If pot becomes legal, it will then be used by many as the “happy tweak” of choice. This will have a myriad of negative consequences.

Lots of people will drive after consuming, which may be sneaky in that it may not hit you like a hammer as a shot of booze might, but affect you down the road. Plus, the driver will probably think he/she is fine to drive.

I listed some of the effects of smoking pot above, and they have been verified through formal research.

Another issue would be motivation to accomplish anything, much less excel at anything.

If you think we are being outperformed now by foreign workforces, wait until pot is legal.

In Cody Lewis’ article, “High time for pot legalization,” (Dec. 9, 2010) he presents the typical biased stance, and does not fully develop all the topics he puts to paper.

For instance, the argument that pot is alright since the lottery is legal is of course erroneous.

Neither should be legal, in my opinion, and the acceptability of one certainly does not endorse the other.

And yes, if pot were legal, funds would flow through traditional markets as opposed to an underground market which would decrease some types of crimes and increase government coffers.

I suspect, however, that some crimes would increase, such as traffic offenses, vandalism and crimes derived from human error, forgetfulness and just plain stupidity.

There are a lot of folks who are already a danger to themselves and others out there, and I am not sure the government should facilitate further hazard.

Cody himself acknowledges and encapsulates my core concern in his last paragraph; “.put down the pipe and head to the polls.”

The concern is that users will not head out to do anything, but live life between their ears instead of seeking out life and confronting unknown or undesirable events head-on.

Pot usage could debilitate the user’s ability to adjust and develop (or apply) skills important to fully-functioning adults.

I do not argue the medicinal and perhaps psychological benefits to marijuana; the relevant evidence seems to be valid.

I also agree with much of what is said about the impact marijuana legalization would have on crime.

But I am afraid that the net societal effect would be negative.

We cannot afford to be any less driven, any less motivated, and any more careless as a culture, not as long as the world works the way it does.

Regarding the much needed increase in revenues, I am personally in favor of taxing the heck out of foods and drinks which have little or no nutritional value, like corn chips and sodas. Now that would move a stoner to action.

-Mark Estes

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