It was very unfair of Bob Thompson to suggest in his letter to the editor that I want to legalize any hard drugs, but not marijuana. I was only saying that marijuana should be no easier to get than any other pain reliever for legitimate users. If I ever need to try it for severe pain, I probably will. But, I will get it from a "real" physician, not from a street corner clinic. And only if it becomes legal for that purpose, which it probably will. [continues 122 words]
Kathi Lipscomb states in a letter to the editor that she was in Amsterdam and while walking in the city, someone asked her why she was there when the best cannabis in the world is grown in California! Am I the only Californian who is ashamed of this fact? It is just wrong when we're admired for growing and promoting an illegal narcotic. I spoke with some friends today and we agreed that there are legitimate, ill people in need of pain medications, but 95 percent of the users are not legitimate! Any one can get marijuana or a "script." If it were prescribed ONLY to proven, HONESTLY ill people, it would not be the gigantic statewide problem that it is. I believe that the people who write to you insisting that marijuana is just a harmless herb and wonderful end-all pain reliever ... are the very people who sit on their couch every night getting stoned. Joanne Crouch Penn Valley [end]
Is there anyone who can explain to me (and thousands of others) why the federal government continues to do nothing about the "ever expanding marijuana industry in California"? And, didn't we just reject the legalization of the drug in California? Obviously, our votes mean nothing. How can California be able to sanction marijuana farms and even issue permits to run industrial scale marijuana farms when the growers, traffickers (and even an Oakland city council member) are deliberately thumbing their noses at the federal government? They must feel very confident that they will not face federal imprisonment! But ... why? We all read about local marijuana farmers who have been arrested and face losing everything they have. Does this seem crazy to anyone but me? It's not like we're talking about a cancer cure ... or a solution to world hunger. People forget that we're talking about another readily available mind-altering narcotic! Joanne Crouch Penn Valley [end]
