Milton Friedman speaks

He's been promoting sensible cannabis legislation since before most of us even tried it and following the release of the latest report by economist Jeffrey Miron, that estimates legalization and regulation similar to the treatment of alcohol products would save the country a minimum of $10 billion and $14 billion per year, Milton has issued a call for common sense.

In response, a group of more than 500 distinguished economists -- led by Nobel Prize-winner Dr. Milton Friedman -- released an open letter to President Bush and other public officials calling for "an open and honest debate about marijuana prohibition," adding, "We believe such a debate will favor a regime in which marijuana is legal but taxed and regulated like other goods."

It's well past time for America to get its priorities straight and there's many more serious threats to our national security than marijuana.

As Milton Friedman and over 500 economists have now said, it's time for a serious debate about whether marijuana prohibition makes any sense," said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "We know that prohibition hasn't kept marijuana away from kids, since year after year 85% of high school seniors tell government survey-takers that marijuana is 'easy to get.' Conservatives, especially, are beginning to ask whether we're getting our money's worth or simply throwing away billions of tax dollars that might be used to protect America from real threats like those unsecured Soviet-era nukes."

Or you could put those tax dollars into education and recreational programs. There are too many better ways to spend that money.