Roughly eight months after the region buried one policeman as a result of a failed marijuana bust, we have now lost another.

In January, it was Chesapeake officer Jarrod Shivers, gunned down while serving a search warrant on Ryan Frederick while the young man, suspected of growing pot, slept in his South Norfolk home.

A week ago Thursday, it was undercover Virginia Beach Detective Michael Phillips, murdered by a couple of thugs while trying to buy about a half pound of weed.

If indeed Frederick did have plants growing in his garage and if Phillips had been able to stop alleged killers Ted Carter and Marshall Moyd from dealing dope, would either crime have been worth the trade off of the lives of two wonderful husbands and fathers?

I asked this question after Shivers’ death.  Why are we wasting our time and the well-being of good law enforcement personnel busting anyone for pot?  If people want to get high, it’s their business and their loss. 

After many decades and millions of dollars spent in vain trying to stop marijuana use, when are we going to try something new?

Would more people actually light up if pot was legal and discouraged, like cigarettes and alcohol?   Maybe a few more, but think how many addicts we could treat and cure with the money we are blowing on enforcement.

I grieve when any policeman is killed in the line of duty, but I am angry when one dies enforcing marijuana laws.  It's simply not worth it.