MARIJUANA NOT DRUG AT ROOT OF U.S. PROBLEMS

How much money are taxpayers losing fighting the war against some
drugs in central Maine? The infrastructure and equipment used to man
and fly the choppers alone must run in the tens of thousands per day.
Even "successful" raids send legitimate landowners to prison for
years when guerrilla growers plant huge amounts of cannabis without
their knowledge. In this post 9/11 world, when the blood of Maine
boys stains foreign deserts, terrorism rules the headlines, and
skyscrapers fall in our cities, money is being wasted.

Serious drug problems exist in Maine, but do not concern the use or
cultivation of marijuana. A drug war on pot draws attention from the
soul-sucking devastation caused by the scourge of white powders.
Methamphetamine, oxycontin and cocaine are the kinds of drugs
responsible for death and poverty, not pot. How many meth labs are
busted by flying choppers and committing ground troops to the forest?

Marijuana is illegal due to bogus propaganda spread by people long
dead. Legislation passed then, without public debate, was not by the
people or for the people. The time for debate has come. Newspapers
should command the front lines of that debate.

I am very proud to descend from men who believed in freedom and were
willing to lay down their lives for that cause. Thomas Jefferson
would be disgusted that his precious cash crop is now illegal.
Prohibition against alcohol was an attack against our God-given
freedoms, and so is prohibition against marijuana. Democracy now!

Casey O'Connor

Starks