If all the governor is wanting is more tax revenue to help bail the state out of debt by legalizing marijuana, why doesn't he push to legalize cocaine, hashish, opium, heroin and prostitution? Now we're talking tax revenue, baby. But what really irks me about most politicians today is instead of spending less, all they can think of is taxing us more in oh so many devious ways. As we all know in our own daily lives, if we spend more than we bring in, we are in serious financial trouble. As is our state. So the governor and the Legislature should try to be more responsible with what we have elected you to do. Spend less and be fiscally conservative. No more entitlements. And no more taxes. - - Bill Moore, El Dorado Hills [end]
"Research shows medical marijuana helps many people" (5/26). Not true! Just as physicians connected to the tobacco industry downplayed tobacco's harmful effects, physicians connected to the marijuana legalization lobby portray marijuana as nonaddictive, safe and therapeutic. This is a cruel scam perpetrated on the American people. Robert Gregg has shown nothing other than word-of-mouth in refuting the harmful effects of marijuana that I mentioned (5/19). However, I have a wealth of creditable information that I will share with anyone who wants it. I'm in the phone book, call me and I will send it to you. [continues 202 words]
Stan Whites letter, "Use of marijuana is biblical and should be legal" (May 13), is obviously senseless, illogical, untrue and contrary to all reason of common sense. Our heavenly Father did create all seed-bearing plants, in the first chapter of the Bible. But he also stated his purpose for these seed-bearing plants; "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food" (Gen. 1: 29). Food! So where does he tell us to roll up a joint and smoke it? The Bible condemns intoxication. [continues 193 words]
While the world is watching the Middle East, a terrible conflict is going on in Colombia. U.S. tax payers are paying for most of it. A terrible feature of the Colombian action is fumigation. Spraying of cocoa (cocaine) plants is so indiscriminate many other crops are destroyed; even animals and humans are often poisoned. Colombia is the largest cocaine producer, so we fumigate their farms. The U.S. is the largest marijuana producer, so why don't we fumigate our farms? One Colombia observer says: "Let's get serious about drugs. If fumigation works, let's fumigate parties where drugs are used, mansions of drug lords and banks where drug money is laundered." [continues 137 words]
lf one medicine were 23 times more effective than another, which would you take? In 1994 the Rand Corp., a conservative think tank, made a study finding treatment of cocaine addiction 23 times more effective at reducing usage than attacking the source. Though financed by the U.S. government, the results have been ignored with billions spent trying to cut off the source. Only two million of nearly five million hard-core addicts receive treatment. Last year Congress approved $1.3 billion in aid for Plan Colombia, supposedly to cut cocaine production. Most of this aid is military. It was conditioned on Colombia observing human rights standards. President Clinton horrified human rights groups by waiving the standards. Plan Colombia has become a poorly disguised war against the poor. [continues 134 words]
