Pubdate: Wed, 6 Oct 2010
Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
Copyright: 2010 The Arizona Republic
Contact: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/sendaletter.html
Website: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24
Author: Carolyn Short
Cited: Proposition 203 http://stoparrestingpatients.org/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?273 (Proposition 203)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)

APPROVAL WILL LEAD TO CHAOS

Keep AZ Drug Free

Our roads will be more dangerous. Fatal car wrecks attributable to 
marijuana impairment increased dramatically in states that passed 
"medical" marijuana laws.

Crime will increase. Dispensaries (which are allowed to deliver) and 
indoor grow houses (unlimited in number) are crime magnets and a 
blight on neighborhoods and local businesses. Prop. 203 is full of 
loopholes for drug users, making chaos inevitable.

Far more teenagers use marijuana in "medical" marijuana states. Teens 
who smoke pot are more likely to fail in school and life.

Seriously ill people will be harmed, not helped. You should believe 
doctors and experts, not the national pro-drug lobby behind this 
initiative. The American Cancer Society, American Glaucoma Society 
and National Multiple Sclerosis Society do not recommend patients use 
pot because it causes more harm than good and safer alternatives exist.

Drug users will be protected at your expense, so don't be bullied 
into believing this is about compassion. Seriously ill people are not 
imprisoned simply for using marijuana. In other states, as few as 2 
percent of marijuana cardholders have serious illnesses. Marijuana 
will be tax-exempt, yet unfunded additional costs for law enforcement 
and substance-abuse treatment will be substantial.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake