VOTE 'YES' ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Only one in four Ferndale residents will troop to the polls this
Tuesday for city elections and that is unfortunate. Voting is the
single most important duty for people living in a democracy. Though
there are no exciting races for city council this year, there are
important issues voters will decide. Proposal D will allow voters to
share their opinion on marijuana use by patients with serious health problems.

Marijuana has been known and used by man for more than 4,000 years.
It was listed as a medicinal herb by ancient Chinese physicians in
texts dating back centuries before Christ. It's been a common drug in
this country for more than 40 years. It was not made illegal until
1937 when conservative law enforcement personnel whipped up a
campaign to ban its use, which was common among Mexican immigrants in
the West and among urban musicians. The hysteria is best displayed in
the hilarious cult film "Reefer Madness," which warned that use of
marijuana led to rape, murder, addiction, and madness.

Americans know differently. Marijuana is common in every strata of
society. It is the one of the largest farm commodities in states like
California, Oregon, and Kentucky. Presidents Clinton and Bush have
both smoked pot, as have one hundred million other Americans. But
this vote isn't about stoners, or past presidents. It is about
seriously ill people effectively using marijuana to ease the nausea
of chemotherapy or to increase their appetite to fight the scourge of
a wasting syndrome.

Don't take my word for it. Listen instead to the American Nurses
Association, or the New England Journal of Medicine. Read what the
American Public Health Association says about marijuana as medicine.
They all support decriminalization. Many states have taken this same
action, only to be over-ruled by national politicians and drug czar
bureaucrats.

My friend Mike Lennon was a cop for 25 years, and he writes that
marijuana is dangerous and addictive, that smoking is not good for
the lungs. This is true more for tobacco than pot. As he and I both
know, tobacco is very dangerous, addictive, and bad for the lungs.
Fortunately for Mike and me, we are not at risk for arrest and jail
because of smoking cigarettes.

American society is replete with drug use, from the businessman's
three-martini lunch, to the six pack of beer during the game, to the
housewife's tranquilizers or the anti-depressants that millions take.
We use Viagra for sex; we drink coffee to wake up. We take aspirin
for pain, and pills to sleep. It seems silly to not face the reality
that marijuana is safer and more common than many other legal,
regulated substances.

Send a message that law enforcement has more serious issues than ill
people using marijuana as medicine. Vote "yes" on D. And vote "yes"
on A and B as well, which will bring council compensation up to cover
inflation from 1927 dollars.