Reefer Madness afflicts Chicago papers over cannabis legalization

If you read Chicago paper Letters To Editor published on cannabis legalization, you might think it has zero public support. In addition, you could surmise the effort to legalize cannabis is bringing a whole new dangerous drug into the the Prairie State which will cause major societal problems. I've not seen a single letter taking the opposite, and greatly more informed view.

None of these 'sky is falling' missives mention over a million Illinoisans use marijuana illegally, pouring hundreds of millions into black market coffers. The majority of these users are millennials, those coming of age in this century, who are turning away from a much more dangerous, indeed deadly drug, alcohol. They're spending less money on pot, using less to achieve the relaxation it provides, and suffering virtually none of the aftereffects from their former drug of choice. Nationwide public support for legalized muggles is 61%, not zero. Beer sales are plummeting so fast that major suppliers Heineken and Corona are beginning to explore THC (pot's psychoactive ingredient) laced non-alcoholic beer. Hey, they'll have to make up that 4 million less barrels of less beer shipped every year somehow.

The bad guys are freaking out, worried the cash cow chewing their illegal grass will meander over to Illinois' legal grass farm, helping fill the gaping hole in the Illinois budget. Maybe these are the folks who are writing all those gloom and doom letters how cannabis will destroy Illinois' social fabric. The legal US pot market of $6 billion will grow (pun intended) to $50 billion in seven years. They know it and are very worried. Legal pot is now at our doorstep in Michigan.

Chicago's papers do not serve the public when they only publish letters channeling the bizarre, indeed hallucinatory 1936 film, 'Reefer Madness', produced by a church group that warned of manslaughter, suicide, rape and madness from puffing a joint. Come on Chicago letters editors. Time to raise your letters section to a higher level.