BAD POT COVERAGE

First let me say, YES, marijuana should be decriminalized, in response
to the top of the front page headline question posed to the public
recently.

Now I want to comment on the way you report on marijuana busts, like
the one on page 2 on March 2. I feel that the way you report on these
cases is very much so one-sided. You repeat almost verbatim what the
police have told you.

Please let me remind you that we are now in the 21st
century.

We have state laws protecting medical-marijuana users, and "Question
1" was passed by a majority of 10,000 on this island in the last
election. Our local police seem to ignore this fact.

When you report on marijuana busts in our community, I think you might
want to consider mentioning the other side of the story.

Try to get a statement from the arrestee's attorney and mention that
although the crime is reported by the police as "possession of a
detrimental drug," there is a majority of our community that believe
that marijuana is a medicine and that it's less dangerous than alcohol
and cigarettes. Take a look at the commercials on TV for all of the
pharmaceuticals and their side effects and you'll see that marijuana's
side effects are less harmful than them, too. You might want to
research the rumor that President Barack Obama has told the federal
DEA agency to "lay off" the California medical-marijuana providers.

We are entering a new era. Marijuana prohibition will soon be a thing
of the past. Get with it.

Ken Charon

Kurtistown