I am writing in support of legalizing marijuana, at least for medicinal use.
This is from my own observation. I'm not a professional, not a doctor, don't know a lot about law or politics - just a regular citizen with opinions and questions. I believe my observations and questions are reasonable and valid.
Marijuana does have medicinal value. It alleviates stress, anxiety, aggression, sleeplessness, nausea and physical pain. I know of people who could very well use it in place of the outrageously expensive prescription drugs that are so quickly prescribed with their 50 million side effects. Many of them are addictive and do far more damage to the body than smoking pot. We've all heard of overdosing on prescription drugs - how many times have we heard of overdosing on pot?
I know of people who have been so drugged up on prescription meds under a doctor's care, that they could no longer function with vital organs being seriously damaged - and I know they could have benefited from simply smoking marijuana a couple of times a day instead of the prescription meds. Is this how we want our society?
Yes, I'm sure marijuana causes some lung damage and we hear of it killing brain cells, but guess what? There are very intelligent people out there who have smoked pot virtually all their lives.
I don't understand why alcohol is legal and marijuana is not. Alcohol causes far more damage to the user, their families, friends, even strangers killed by drunk drivers. Surely we have heard of this happening. How often do we hear of a fatal accident caused by someone jacked up on pot? How often do we hear of someone in a marijuana-induced rage beating up on their wives or kids or friends? Or verbally abusing everyone around them because they are stoned? People who smoke marijuana are in general mellow, peaceful, minding their own business, not causing problems. Yet they are slapped with arrests, court costs, fines, attorney fees, entered to substance abuse clinics and charged for that, lose their jobs, have their driver's license taken away, yanked away from their families, looked down on as "socially unacceptable" and treated like a criminal, simply because it is illegal.
Why is it illegal?
It's not a "gateway drug".
It's not physically addictive.
It's not dangerous or life-threatening.
It doesn't cause violence in users.
I do not use marijuana myself, and very little alcohol, but I have been around people who use both most of my life, and I much prefer to be around "potheads" than "drunks".
I've seen alcohol do much more damage. I've seen alcohol destroy people and family lives in my own family and others. I've not seen marijuana hurt anyone - only by the punishment for using it.
If alcohol should be legal (and I believe it should be-we as "free" adults should be allowed to make our own choice) then marijuana should be legal also.
Sure, there will always be those of us who us it abusively - just like cigarettes, alcohol, junk food, etc. Are those next in line to be made illegal? It's kind of looking that way, isn't it?
Maybe more regular citizens need to exercise our rights to free speech and attempt to influence the laws we have to live by. Will it even make a difference?
To whom do we address these questions?
Brenda Hill
Milford
Editor's Note: This letter was edited to conform more closesly to the 500-word limit stated in our "Letters Policy."
