Keeping marijuana illegal won't reduce use.

Letter to the editor:

While USA TODAY’s editorial “Marijuana on the ballot” was cautious and well-intentioned in nature, it misses several key issues about legalized marijuana. There are several factors I urge everyone to consider.

As a father, I too share your concerns around children. However, I share far more serious concerns around the way we medicate our kids with pharmaceuticals, media, technology and the many distractions eroding our culture. The problem with more prohibition around this plant is the lack of education and conversation. In Colorado a dialogue has now been forced around marijuana because of its legality. The point is that as it pertains to kids, marijuana is something to talk about and as we say in our house, “Just not yet. This is for adults.”

You do a fair job of mentioning the decrimalization aspect of marijuana, but you failed to discuss the positive aspects of it on our economy, businesses and employment here in our state.

At last estimation, there are more than 10,000 employees in the marijuana industry in Colorado, a state with roughly 5.5 million residents. Now, when you estimate the same percentage of potential employment in a state like California alone, you could see a potential gain of over 100,000 jobs. Incidentally, those jobs typically pay upward of $12 an hour at their lowest rate and employ people who consume marijuana, a deal-breaker for many more mainstream companies.

What we should all be concerned about is a black market in marijuana, which causes more problems for youth, funds cartels, and wreaks havoc on law enforcement who should be spending time pursuing actual dangerous matters.

Do I mean to say that jobs and education are the only challenges we face with marijuana? No, but the challenges can only be resolved in a regulated, carefully designed industry and in a legal environment where consumers can veer away from the dangerous black market. Meanwhile, they can build an educational environment and, at the same time, put good people to work. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Todd Mitchem; Denver