WELCOME TO "BRECKENDAM"

I was amazed that 72 percent of Breckenridge voted for the concept
that marijuana should be legalized. I have heard all the standard
reasons for that position. These are a few. "The police are too busy
with other things, and that freeing them from having to enforce this
would be a benefit to all." Since when did pot smokers care anything
about the police?

"If you are sick, this will help you." That is not what the good
websites dealing with marijuana say. "I did it and it did not hurt
me." How do you know? Research says that this stuff can cause brain
damage. I wonder what you would have been like if you had not done
it? "Everyone else does it." Maybe you are hanging around with the
wrong people. "If alcohol is legal, so should pot." This is the
saddest reason yet. Yes, alcohol is bad, but adding a drug to the mix
does not help. What is so difficult about saying no to damaging
products like this? We can already see the problems with medical
marijuana all over the county because there are no guidelines to go
by. And, you can see some, in the area, who clearly have gone over
the limit for themselves and are not really all there. Is it fair for
vacation skiers to sit on the chairlift and have to smell the
marijuana smoke from some dirtbags in the chair in front? What about
the children and youth? Do you care if they try it? If it is easy to
get, they will. What kind of parents would feel that way?

If you have ever been to Amsterdam, you might be seeing
Breckenridge's future. Let's change the name now to Breckendam and
get it over with. There is one good thing about all this. Research
had shown that regular pot users tend to be impotent. If that is the
case, maybe they will just disappear in a few years. Check out the
web site for the National Institute on Drug Abuse. I believe what
they say far more than sites that say marijuana is harmless. Drunk
drivers who also use pot, are more are more dangerous than those who
do not. I know that many who voted for this measure believe that they
are doing a good thing by showing love and understanding. You think
that you are giving freedom and joy to those who start this. But in
reality, they will lose their freedom and become a prisoner. I feel
sorry for the families in Breckenridge who have homes there, and want
to raise their children in a nice environment.

Jim Cowles

Breckenridge