To the Editor:

 

After talking to a friend who works at the Hyde County prison and doing some math, I know why the state of Colorado made the sale of pot legal. Money! Lots of cash! Less jailbirds! My friend said about 90 percent of the inmates were drug dealers — let’s say 50 percent of the, I think, 200, more or less are pot dealers. That’s 100.

I read in the paper it costs about $56 a day for inmate. If a drug dealer gets 8 to 12 years for selling pot and has to pull 10 years, that’s 120 months! So $56 x 365 x 120 x 100 inmates is “God Almighty!” And that’s just one prison! I think North Carolina needs to do some math! This saving include the tax that could be reaped either.

OK, I new this was coming: if we legalize pot this will set a bad example for our young people. Well, how about the sale of alcohol and tobacco? Both addictive. Pot is not. Ever hear of a man smoking pot coming home and beating his wife and kids? Speeding and careless and reckless? No. Shooting at his neighbor? No. Does the sale of alcohol and tobacco and lottery tickets tell our young people it’s alright to drink and smoke and gamble? This would stop teens from being arrested for possession of pot and everybody else.

Let’s face it: pot’s not going away. As long as there are pot smokers, there will be pot sellers. You can lock ‘em up until the prison looks like a can of sardines or build more prisons! North Carolina, do the math and take the bull by the horns and reap a windfall! Colorado had so many lemons, they made lemonade. Come on, N.C. Step up to the plate and hit a home run. Stop flogging a dead horse! If I had a teen out tonight, what with what’s out there—crack, cocaine, and now meth and heroin—I would hope my child was only smoking pot.

My math may be a little off, but it’s close enough for North Carolina to wake up and smell the roses and look at the dollar bills.

Billy Wert

Belhaven