Pubdate: Thu, 10 Oct 2002 Source: Las Vegas City Life (NV) Copyright: 2002sLas Vegas City Life Contact: http://www.lasvegascitylife.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1653 Author: Eugenie Throckmorton Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?162 (Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?163 (Question 9 (NV)) IF SMOKING POT EASES THE PAIN OF AGING, PUFF AWAY Regarding "Just say no to marijuana initiative rhetoric" [Oct. 3]: I don't smoke pot. I don't use tobacco. A big bottle of rum to flavor my tea and baking lasts me a year. I don't have bill collectors coming to my door. I've had no moving traffic violations during my 47 years in Southern Nevada. In other words, I'm a responsible citizen. Democracy requires responsibility. Our country promotes democracy throughout the world to provide all people with freedom. And freedom is what I want when it comes to the marijuana initiative in the coming election. I'm old. Though healthy now, I would use marijuana to provide comfort for the aches and pains of aging. I've spoken with several people whose family members suffered severe pain prior to death and wanted sufficient marijuana as a palliative without side effects. State licensing will allow doctors to prescribe it, and state oversight will assure a product without dangerous additives. We're in scaredy-cat mode these days - we're fixated on what might happen. Now is the time to protect our freedoms by exercising them. Decriminalizing the use of marijuana should not depend on what the police and other authorities see in their crystal ball. Parents or individuals should have the responsibility of dealing with alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana in the privacy of their homes. This is a democracy. We don't need Taliban kind of control from our authorities that results in suffering and loss of personal freedom. - -Eugenie Throckmorton Las Vegas - --- MAP posted-by: Alex