LAWMAKERS SHOULD OVERRIDE LYNCH VETO

U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte recently sent a mass mailer to
select New Hampshire voters declaring that "doctors and patients
should be making decisions on health care, not bureaucrats." Perhaps
this means she has changed her position on HB 648, the medical
marijuana bill which she opposed so strenuously earlier this year
when she was attorney general?

The bill, which faces its final vote Oct. 28, would have faced few
hurdles if Ayotte and her office had not opposed it so
vociferously.

As a police officer, I have sworn an oath to enforce the laws of our
state, but I do not think it is wise or appropriate for police
officers or bureaucrats to interfere in health care decisions. I
agree with the sentiment expressed in Ayotte's mailer, and I believe
the medical marijuana issue provides a perfect test for whether
Ayotte believes her own rhetoric. Unless she has changed her position
on medical marijuana, the inconsistency is obvious.

I encourage all members of the Legislature to set aside their fears
and vote to override Gov. John Lynch's veto.

If you or somebody you love was able to find relief from using
marijuana to treat a horrible illness, wouldn't you want them to be
protected from arrest?

BRADLEY JARDIS

Hooksett

(The writer is a police officer in Epping and a member of Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition.)