Dear :

I'm writing to urge you to take immediate action to legalize marijuana.

By legalizing marijuana, which is perhaps not a harmless substance but surely less dangerous than alcohol (in 8000 years of use, no one has ever died from smoking it), resources spent on enforcing marijuana laws could be redirected toward drug education in schools and rehabilitation of hard-cord drug addicts in cities.

Furthermore, if marijuana were legalized for personal use by adults and then taxed, it could raise money for such an educational effort without forcing cuts in other areas of the federal budget.

Educating America's youths on the facts of drug use and abuse is an important goal. The question, however, is not whether this education is needed, but how it can be paid for.

Legalizing, regulating, and taxing marijuana provides the answer.

Yours truly,