FORGET POT FOR RECREATIONAL USE

Re: 'Pot crusader punished for who he is' (Letter, Sept. 2)

I had to pull the stitches from my side from laughing so hard when I
read this letter. Chris Buors, president of the Manitoba Marijuana
Party, has officially compared Chris Goodwin, owner of the Up In Smoke
Cafe, to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.!

I must question his logic.

Goodwin is the same person who spoke openly of his support for his
baby's mother smoking marijuana while pregnant. He even went as far as
to claim it was good for her and the baby. He also stated on
television that he had smoked this drug while in a position as
caregiver to his child.

Goodwin confessed to allowing people to smoke in his cafe without a
medical licence signed by a doctor.

As a person who supports medicinal use of marijuana, I must say that
Goodwin and many of his supporters took this law that legalizes pot
for the sick and dying and turned it into a pot-smoking recreation
centre right in the middle of downtown Hamilton.

No law-abiding citizen with any sense of dignity would want to
continue to advocate the use of a drug that, whether natural or not,
has contributed to the ill health of our communities both physically
and psychologically.

Goodwin, Buors and any other person who supports legalizing marijuana
for recreational purposes in such a public way are selfish and
ignorant of the effects these "natural" drugs have on individuals and
our society.

These people should spend a lot of time in jail where they can come
off the drug and think rationally.

Maybe with clear heads, they can rethink whether they should be using
their efforts to legalize marijuana or try supporting a more worthy
cause like cancer or multiple sclerosis.

The only comparison I will make is between Goodwin and all the other
drug pushers in our community.

Amanda Lewis,

Hamilton