The New York Times editorial board this past Sunday called for the federal government to legalize marijuana in the United States.

As far as we are concerned, this is a new low for a paper that had at one time some credibility.

We are not prudes; we enjoy a drink from time to time, and we have associates who smoke the good old weed in their home from time to time, but to endorse the wholesale use of this product is at best just plain dumb.

Here we are in this country spending billions of dollars discouraging people from smoking; we have let a minority group like Mothers Against Drunk Driving change the social drinking laws in this country to the point that if you are out to dinner and have a glass of wine and are stopped, not only are you publically shamed but the cost to try to gain back your driving privileges is astronomical.

Two states, Colorado and Washington, have made marijuana legal in a short period of time. The unforeseen consequences of the impediment that smoking this drug causes are just now starting to be understood. The reason that the leaders of these two states passed this legislation is strictly for the tax benefits; we hardly think this is a good reason to make this destructive drug legal.

The state of Georgia is studying allowing marijuana for medical use. If in fact marijuana helps people in deep pain, we accept that as long as there are tight controls.

Unfortunately, just as the pendulum of life does not stop in the middle, opening the door to the legalization of marijuana for medical use in Georgia is just going to open the door for the full legalization of marijuana in the state of Georgia.

We are opposed to this. If you are, too, contact your state representatives and let them know your feelings.