APPROVE PROPOSITION 5 NOW

Current prohibitions of alcohol and tobacco for underage users are
ineffective because of lack of enforcement and parental attitudes and
permissiveness. Example: buying little Johnny cigarettes because you would
rather have him smoke at home than get in trouble at school or have to pay
a $300 fine to the local court system. Let's not forget peer pressure often
overrides everyone's (including parents') attempts to do what we think is
right. It is no different with pot.

Proposition 5 allows adults, not children, to consume marijuana. We will
allow adults to smoke pot in private without being busted by their
employers or the state. We have impairment tests for people who drink and
drive. This sort of test will work just as well for those who are too
wasted to drive or work.

Industrial hemp production is real and offers many benefits. Space limits
full discussion of this topic here. If it were legal to produce this plant
in Alaska or elsewhere in the United States, market forces and people with
entrepreneurial spirit and know-how would do the rest.

Think about the savings in your tax dollars if we stop enforcing Draconian
marijuana laws against adults.

Proposition 5 is not perfect, but it's a really good start in the right
direction. Let's approve this initiative now.

Grady S. Wagner

Wasilla