Homeless in Arizona

The laws making drugs illegal have created a black market which causes drugs to be outrageously priced. And these outrageously high drug prices cause people who can't afford the drugs to rob drug stores.

Legalize drugs, and these robberies of drug stores will stop overnight.

A good example is medical marijuana which currently costs about $300 an ounce, or $4,800 a pound at the medical marijuana dispensaries.

If marijuana were to be completely legalized with not government controls or monopolies, the price of marijuana would drop to a few dollars a pound and people who not be robbing medical marijuana dispensaries when they could buy a pound of marijuana for the same price they buy a pound of tomatoes or potatoes for.

Source

Letter: Pharmacies aren't safe anymore

Geoff Sheinin 5:41 p.m. MST August 4, 2016

Pharmacists need protection too. As a registered pharmacist for the past 45 years, I am appalled at the state of the profession. Pharmacies are constantly the target of armed robberies and threats of violence. Whether it’s Walgreens, CVS, food stores or neighborhood pharmacies, the pharmacist and staff are exposed to the public and prime targets for drug addicts, abusers and thieves.

I am sorry a young man was killed last week by Tempe police, but if he had not tried robbing an unprotected pharmacy he would not have been in that position. The pharmacist and the staff deserve to be protected and to go home to their families at night.

Race and color don't matter: safety does. Drugs are too expensive already, armed guards in every pharmacy will only exacerbate the costs. Just imagine the expense of enclosing every pharmacy in bulletproof glass and hiring security. The drug and insurance companies certainly won't assist in covering the cost: you will.

— Geoff Sheinin R.Ph., Peoria