BOULDER IS THE REAL MILE 'HIGH' CITY

Five years ago, I took a chance and relocated to Boulder from another
state in hopes of providing a better living environment for my
children and me. As a single mother, I wanted the best for my children
in education, a small town environment, a sense of community, exposure
to cultural arts and a fresh start all of which I had hoped Boulder
provided.

The public schools and associated sporting activities here in Boulder
did not let me down and we are grateful for the education and friends
we've made along the way. I've successfully seen one son through an
area high school and am now faced with an unprecedented and unforeseen
reality that is forcing me to consider leaving Boulder in order to
best preserve the innocence of my middle-school son and give him the
best opportunity for a productive and giving future.

The growing presence of legalized marijuana in Boulder and the
plethora of dispensaries, the drug's overall acceptance and its
lucrative allure is predatory and destructive for our youth.

With the welcoming of over 100 dispensaries swarming this town, I am
disgusted to call Boulder our home. My teenage son and each one of his
friends and their friends have their own "medical" marijuana licenses,
most received under the age of 18. They even receive daily emails
alerting them of the newest "hot" bud. None have cancer or a
debilitating disease.

We, as parents, need to wake up and smell the weed that infects our
children. Sadly, some parents endorse dope and are regular users
themselves. Our children are driving high; some parents are driving
high with their children in tow. Our youth are sitting on couches
smoking dope rather than working or studying or helping in the
community. I've watched many of our youth grow up with an unfamiliar
sense of entitlement and no effort toward giving back or having a good
work ethic.

Where are manners and respect for our elders and each
other?

And now, there is marijuana and it's legal.

It's hard to compete with a drug, so easily and legally obtained,
contaminating the cells of your child's body as you try to parent and
teach them differently.

There is a new language associated with Boulder's "legal" drug trade
that reminds me of the emergence of Starbucks and its own special
language but in a far darker way. Many business acquaintances have
"second" incomes from baking cookies to leasing "pot" condos here in
Boulder and are making fast money.

Did I mention that those tasty chocolate chip cookies that you made
for the trade are ending up in students' backpacks being sold to their
friends on school campuses?

It bothers me that our university has a day devoted to pot smoking.
When a dispensary opens its doors next to a GameStop store where the
patrons are mostly children, I know it is time for me to make a change
and leave this town I've called home. I can't change what "is" in
Boulder but I can take a stand for our children and shout out that
this drug trade is not OK whether legal or illegal.

I can change my location and what I choose to expose to my
family.

And, I can embrace the values of yesterday and let the youth in my
town of Boulder know that one parent will not follow or endorse this
trend of fast, dirty money and believes in them, their abilities and
their drug-free future.

I understand the premise for legalizing marijuana was to assist cancer
patients in pain management but I suggest that perhaps the true
premise was based on greed and a way to make a quick buck. Is it worth
the further degradation of our youth?

Is it worth the quick buck? We are immediate to condemn others for our
current state of affairs but in this regard what we are producing for
the next generation is something we can't cast off. We own it. What
part of dope smoking is positive and healthy for us? The negative
effects on our society far outweigh the medicinal benefits for the
few.