A regulated marijuana market is safest

USA TODAY’s editorial “On Election Day, will two more states go to pot?”, on the proposals to legalize recreational marijuana in North Dakota and Michigan is unsophisticated in its thinking.

The Editorial Board’s argument presupposes that — what amounts to — prohibition is the best way to deter underage cannabis use. Many people disagree. One of the goals of legalizing and regulating marijuana is to ultimately undermine the illicit market. Dealers in the streets don’t card their customers; dispensaries do. A legal, regulated market will restrict youth access to cannabis more effectively than the status quo of prohibition. Marissa Medansky Berkeley, Calif.