VOTE 'NO' ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Ferndale voters will be voting on four proposals on Election Day.

I would like to talk to you about one of them -- Proposal D -- the
legalization of medical marijuana in Ferndale.

I am opposed to this and let me explain why.

Marijuana is an illegal "gateway" drug. There is no legal way to
purchase this drug, even if the proposal does pass. You can still be
arrested under federal and state statutes for the possession, sale
and cultivation of the drug. Will the Ferndale Police barge into your
home and take you away in your wheelchair, as some would have you
believe? Absolutely not! The Ferndale Police Department doesn't
operate this way. However, Police Chief Mike Kitchen has publicly
emphasized that he will still enforce this state statute. If the
proposal passes, council does not have the authority to tell law
enforcement officials what laws to enforce and what not to.

Furthermore, to say that I or anybody else against Proposal D are
unsympathetic to the suffering of individuals who feel they need
marijuana for their ailments is preposterous. I have personally
experienced in my own family the suffering of those who have had the
same symptoms described by current marijuana users and the use of
medical marijuana was not an option.

The Department of Justice has stated that over 10,000 scientific
studies have been done on medical marijuana and the results are
always the same; marijuana is an addictive drug that does not promote
anything positive. The Food and Drug Administration, Drug Enforcement
Administration and U.S. Public Health Department have also rejected
marijuana as medicine. The National Cancer Institute has said that
marijuana is harmful to your lungs.

A speech made at the University of Florida on Oct. 18 by Ron Kampa,
director of the Marijuana Policy project, stated to the audience,
among other things that four cities in the United States were being
targeted this year for medical marijuana approval. They were
Telluride Colo., Denver, Colo., Traverse City and Ferndale.

I say Ferndale does not have to be a proving ground for every trend
that comes down Main Street.

For many years, the city of Ferndale, the Ferndale Police Department
and the Ferndale School District have all worked hard to emphasize a
drug-free community. The ramification of Ferndale being associated
with an illegal drug has the long-term potential of affecting us for
future awards and grants.

In closing, I would like to thank my colleague Councilman Covey for
taking a public stand on what he believes in and Mr. Donal O'Leary
III for using the system properly to get this issue on the ballot.
But I urge you to vote "no" on Proposal D and to please consider
voting "yes" on all three remaining proposals.