Pubdate: Tue, 10 Jul 2012
Source: Austin Chronicle (TX)
Copyright: 2012 Austin Chronicle Corp.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/0deUfN5t
Website: http://www.austinchronicle.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/33
Author: Julian Ward

PROTECT OUR FREEDOM, LEGALIZE POT

Dear Editor,

It's time the Texan and American people woke up to what's happening 
in our state and country.

The Republican-controlled Supreme Court has sold out our country to 
the highest bidder.

The Texas Legislature, like others around the country, is trying to 
suppress a woman's right to abortion by enforcing invasive procedures 
to discourage her from exercising a constitutional right.

These people, including the Republican governors, are also trying to 
suppress the voting rights of the minorities, including the poor. If 
the state governments are saying our citizens can't vote without 
photo IDs, then the states, not the poor, should be forced to pay for 
them. This should be done before the election, or the laws should be 
repealed until the states have provided every citizen who needs it 
with a free voter's ID. If not, our government should stop calling 
itself a democracy and end this farce. Past dictators would be happy 
with the way we are trying to end what's left of the freedoms we have.

As a last thought, we should not increase the number of police 
officers we have; we should legalize marijuana.

Have the police force go after the real criminals.

Personal use of marijuana by adults is a freedom that law enforcement 
has not been able to suppress regardless of the penalties (in Texas, 
this can include life in prison). The industrial use of marijuana 
would help our farmers instead of forcing consumers to import it. 
Medical marijuana, which has been used safely by people for tens of 
thousands of years, is suppressed by pharmaceutical companies and 
their lobbyists to ensure they make billions of dollars in profit, 
instead of helping people. (A side note: Marijuana was made illegal 
in this country so that the chemical and forestry companies could cut 
down our forests instead of using a higher-quality paper made from hemp.)

Julian Ward
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom