COLUMN TRIVIALIZED MEDICAL POT ISSUES

I write to express my disappointment with Heidi Rice's March 19
opinion column titled "Everybody Must Get Stoned," in which she
attributes statements about marijuana use to an unnamed local
attorney and makes light of the serious concerns voiced by local
employers about employee drug use.

As a local attorney who has conducted three informational seminars in
Glenwood and Rifle addressing the topic of medical marijuana and the
workplace, I want to make it clear that I am not the attorney to whom
Ms. Rice is referring. In fact, I do not recall hearing anyone say
the things she quoted in her article, but perhaps she attended a
different seminar.

Either way, her column glossed over the real issues and promoted
"getting high." In my opinion, this trivialized the concerns of
employers and overlooked the difficulties facing persons with
legitimate medical problems who choose to utilize marijuana in their
course of treatment.

I believe the column also caused confusion because this newspaper
covered my seminar last month and people around town knew that I had
been discussing these topics. Some of those people read Ms. Rice's
article and reasonably but incorrectly assumed that Ms. Rice was
writing about me.

I believe that even when writing a "humorous" opinion article a
journalist ought to be aware of the potential for confusion that
could arise by attributing quotes to "a local attorney," but failing
to explain that the attorney she is quoting is someone other than the
person whose seminar her own paper recently covered.

My disappointment is offset by the solid journalistic work of John
Gardner, who covered my seminar for the Post Independent last month.
I thank Mr. Gardner and the Post Independent for covering this
important issue, and I hope this letter will help clear up any
confusion caused by Ms. Rice's column.

Daniel C. Wennogle

Glenwood Springs