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November 5, 2009

Consent seems likely

To the editor:

Money, while important, is not all that matters (Taylor Armerding: "State can fill its coffers by treating pot like gambling," Oct. 24). What also matters is that our laws comply with the federal and state constitutions; both suppose the consent of the governed. The vote on Question 2 annihilated the notion prohibition of possession backed by criminal sanction had such consent. The vote on Question 2 and the rampant civil disobedience to the law — over 10 percent of Massachusetts voters consumed it last month — establish there is not consent here for the prohibition of its commerce.

According to the U.S. Justice Department's medical marijuana policy memorandum issued Oct. 19, the black market provides "significant source of revenue to large-scale criminal enterprises." So too did alcohol prohibition. The only constitutional policy toward marijuana consists of regulations and a level of taxation reasonable enough so that the people will generally send their money to the state rather than resorting to the black market in their pursuit of their subjective happiness.

Steven S. Epstein

Georgetown

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