Marijuana legalization By Frank Rodgers June 11, 2014
Like all things it can be abused and misused, but that doesn't mean that it should be illegal. if that were the case then we should make guns, knives and baseball bats illegal, also, and maybe mandate a padded cell for every citizen, to keep them from harm. I read one of the recent letters that referred to marijuana as a "poison" Such inflammatory language without source or cause is divisive. Such a simpleminded view is not useful in this discussion. No one should be punished for a supposed crime that has no victim. The stupidity lies with the one who lacks love for his fellow humans, who would see them punished, even though they have done them no harm, except a "perceived harm" existing only in their own minds. Problem children are not problem children because they smoke pot. Pot did not give them their problem. We are complex creatures governed by a mess of invisible forces within us, as well as the visible forces outside of us. The law, what is legal and what is not, will never change that. If you take a troubled teenager and slap the cuffs on them for smoking or even selling a little pot and whisk them off to trial, slap a fine and possibly a little jail-time on them, give them a criminal record for life, do you think they will come out of the ordeal, untroubled, and ready to negotiate their way through this world? That's a laugh. Don't you think we should be looking at the results of what we do, instead of just simply doing? The war on drugs has not been a war on drugs but on the people of this fine country. It has been used to divide us and distract us from the true criminals who continue to fill their pockets with our grief. Instead of focusing our interests on a leafy plant that helps people relax, makes people hungry and cures cancer, maybe we should point our interest to those who would incarcerate us for living our lives in love, with tolerance and forgiveness for each other, like the Good Book tells us to have. I know what crime looks like, and someone drinking a beer, smoking a cigarette or a joint, or a man speaking his mind, may not be wise but it is not a crime, except by the laws of the foolish. Intolerance is a real crime. How come it's not illegal? Frank Rodgers About: "I am a former employee of the SOA. I worked as an licensed marine engineering officer aboard the state ferries for 9 years and as a port engineer for one year. I've lived in Ketchikan for 10 years. I'm writing this letter in favor of the legalization of marijuana in this state because far more harm comes to people over it's legal status than from the calming and healing effects that it has on people. I am not an expert on anything, however I do pay attention and study matters of interest at great length." Received June 10, 2014 - Published June 11, 2014
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