Does the will of the people continue to have any meaning in Montana? Not if the politicians have anything to do with it. Never before has a voter passed initiative been overturned by the Legislature. If the voters approve IR 124, the bill repealing Medical Cannabis, it may be the first time, but make no mistake, not be the last. Folks like Larry Jent and Mike Milburn, who have no problem telling you how you cannot think for yourself, gleefully admit SB 423 was in fact a repeal of the 60+ percent voter-approved medical cannabis law. [continues 172 words]
In his Feb. 1 letter, Jerome Kellner cites his "addiction" to marijuana and "authority figure statistics" to bolster the current government "Reefer Madness." This so-called "addiction" can be eliminated in one or two counseling sessions. The statement that today's marijuana is 1,400 percent stronger than what? Hemp? More propaganda. It is somewhat stronger than that available in the '70s. Marijuana was never tested for THC, the active ingredient, in the '60s. Mr. Kellner, stronger pot means you smoke less. Pot is not crack. Also, marijuana "addiction" is not as hard to overcome as coffee "addiction." Coffee withdrawals cause actual physical unpleasantness; marijuana "withdrawal" does not. Unfortunately some people have an addictive personality. The vast majority of marijuana users do not. Of course it should not be used be young people, just like they shouldn't be using coffee. John McKee Columbia Falls, Mont. [end]
Our benighted "drug czar" screams and foams daily on the horror that Canadian de-criminalized marijuana will bring to the poor, unprotected American citizens. Isn't it about time Canada screams and threatens to squeeze the border to stop the real horror that is American guns illegally entering Canada? John McKee (Interesting comparison) [end]
Mr. Dana Cooper: I enjoyed your slightly paranoid column re: Readers from everywhere commenting on articles. It's true the Web makes it easy to survey areas of interest. I am one of those who regularly read and comment on the marijuana issue. It is an issue, especially in the United States, of immense significance concerning freedom. Totally innocent people are killed by narcotics police. People are incarcerated for ridiculously long sentences. Privacy is a thing of the past. The list is endless. [continues 117 words]
Regarding Marc Ander's "Legal pot is not a better idea" (The NOW, Sept. 7), the director of Airspace Action on Smoking and Health bases his support of marijuana prohibition on the blatantly false assumption that "marijuana smokers get lung cancer almost as often as their nicotine-using counterparts." I challenge Mr. Ander to list some (any?) of those unfortunates who have contracted lung cancer from exclusively smoking marijuana. Please - not from a non-peer-reviewed, small, discredited "study. John McKee Columbia Falls, Mont. [end]
Asa Hutchinson continues in the time-honored manner of the DEA; when it comes to marijuana, always lie. It is a lie that "hemp and marijuana are parts of the same plant and hemp cannot be produced without producing marijuana." Hemp is a totally different strain of the species. No part of the hemp plant contains significant amounts of THC, flowers, leaves, nothing. No part of it produces a "high." If planted in a field with THC-producing marijuana, hemp would cross-pollinate and seriously dilute the THC producer's potency. [continues 72 words]
THREE huge cheers to the government of San Francisco for standing up to The Ayatollah Ashcroft and his anti-drug thug minions at the DEA. These unfortunates are scared to death that if they lose the great bogey man that is marijuana, they could well lose their precious jobs. John McKee Columbia Falls, Mont. [end]
Dear Editor, I enjoyed Bob Groeneveld's tongue (somewhat) in cheek article lamenting the unfortunate loss of a burned out 'grow op' [Growing needs, Aug. 14 Comment, Langley Advance News]. He may or may not actually approve of illegal growing of the herb, but it's here, it's not going away. The Gold Rush analogy is apt. Those out of the mainstream, willing to take risks, loving adventure, by-pass government regulation - well here's the career for you! Like the previous one, this rush features plenty of morons. They may not die, just burn down houses and get arrested. The difference is that the current rush is more lucrative and safer than the previous one. Whattaya gonna do? John McKee Columbia Falls, MT [end]
Re: "Anti-drug operation questioned - DEA acknowledges arrest discrepancies, calls effort a success," Feb. 2. The Drug Enforcement Administration's hyper-inflating bust figures harken back to my time in Vietnam when officers told us to count any dead Vietnamese, man woman or child as an enemy killed in action to look good for the higher-ups and the politicians. Same government, just a different corrupt agency. As long as we insist on this endless "war," it will never change. John McKee, Columbia Falls, Mont. [end]
WRITER LINDA Williamson states she is not in favour of marijuana legalization. You are either for decriminalization, or putting your friends (yes, I'm sorry, whether you know it or not, many of the people you know smoke -- even over 60!) in jail. John McKee (Legalization and decriminalization are two different things.) [end]
Editor, The Star, Sir, It's truly unfortunate that Born-Again "ex-pot head" Frank Sterle didn't spend a lot of time behind bars when he was a degenerate criminal. Perhaps that would have tempered his embrace for the failed Police State paradigm. Did marijuana destroy his life? Was it a real "chore" to quit? Does this smug individual believe his friends are better off in jail or prison than smoking marijuana? Why does the Netherlands have a considerably lower marijuana use rate than marijuana-phobic America, Mr. Sterle? JOHN McKEE, Columbia Falls, Mt [end]
