Dear Editor, all wars are expensive and the Cook Islands government War on marijuana has been no different.

Not only has the government blown millions of dollars that could have been otherwise invested, but the personal cost to our people arrested is very significant and can last for years.

When our people are arrested for possessing even tiny amounts of marijuana, it can have dire collateral consequences.

Marijuana arrests in the Cook Islands, as far as I can see, account for 100 percent of illicit drug arrests.

Police routinely arrest an inordinate amount of our people every year for marijuana. Millions of taxpayer dollars fund these arrests.

Over the years I would venture to say that thousands have been ensnared in the criminal justice system.

This wasted time and money enforcing marijuana laws has failed to diminish the use and sale of marijuana, and our people are increasingly using and selling it more and more.

The police have better things to do.

There are only so many cops and only so many hours in the day, and we need to decide where their priorities should lie.

Would we rather have them busting our people, who are providing medicinal and recreational use of marijuana to many a mama and papa, or would we rather have them keeping thieves out of our homes and getting are stuff back?

Criminalisation of marijuana is insanely expensive.

That money would be far better spent elsewhere on schools, police salaries, teachers salaries, infrastructure, tax relief or literally anything else less ludicrous than putting pot smokers in prison.

Tobacco and alcohol has killed thousands of our people over the years and has wreaked havoc on our society for far too long.

Marijuana fatalities remain year after year at a statistical zero.

Marijuana decriminalisation is easy to understand with an estimated support of 50 to 70 per cent of the people.

It's not everyday that the issues of personal freedom, fiscal responsibility and good science align behind a single issue, marijuana.

If there's one thing wrong with the decriminalisation movement, it doesn't go far enough.

Decriminalisation would be a welcome first step but legislation should follow.

We would see not only a windfall but an annual profit in hundreds of thousands of dollars from taxes on marijuana sales.

Finally, Mr Editor, I find it quite bizarre and ridiculous that Prime Minister Mark Brown continues to do nothing. Maybe Cook Islands News could press him with a series of questions at your weekly face to face conference on Wednesdays.

Steven Boggs