DON'T LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

Editor: I had to reply to Marvin Callahan's letter on legalizing
marijuana. I will admit I am a straight-laced prude. I don't drink,
smoke or do drugs nor have I ever understood some people's need for
such things.

North Carolina is not California nor should we strive to be.
California is morally corrupt and financially bankrupt. It is on the
edge of a cliff and doesn't have the moral backbone to back away.
Mexico is a prime example of the true nature of the drug culture and
the criminals behind it. Don't you read about the murders and how
horrible it is on our border because of these drug lords? Do you
really want the state to be a drug pusher?

People push for medical marijuana only as a ruse to decriminalize it.
The truth is there is far more harm than good. There are ways to
provide the medical benefits without the high, but that is not what
people really want. They want their feel-good drugs, their escapism.
They don't talk about how marijuana destroys brain cells, how it
damages the lungs even more than cigarettes (I think cigarettes
should be as illegal as marijuana. It may not provide the high, but
it causes so much damage it should be listed as a dangerous
substance. My daddy died from lung cancer, and other family members
have had serious health problems caused by that nasty weed).

Nor do they want to recognize how it is often an entry level drug
that leads to far more deadlier drugs. Yes way back when it wasn't
illegal; neither was heroin, cocaine, lots of pesticides, lead in
paint and any number of bad substances. We didn't know then what we know now.

As for those sitting in the courthouse or jail because of drug
charges, I will quote an old TV show, "Don't do the crime if you
can't do the time." These people knew they were doing wrong but did
it anyway because they want their high. That is part of the problem
with modern society. It has become so morally decayed there is no
longer right and wrong.

I heard it said that the problem with the younger generation is that
they are not doing a very good job raising themselves. Our generation
is failing on teaching the younger generation. Most have no idea of
the basic morals we were taught. Oh we might offend someone if we say
something is wrong.

If we are to survive this chaotic time we are in, we as a society
have to have moral standards, to say "no that is not acceptable," and
we need to teach youngsters not to take the easy way, that
recreational drugs are wrong, that just because everyone else is
going to hell doesn't mean they have to join them. Life is so much
better and rewarding without the evil side effects of the drug
culture. How much further can our society sink? Will this country
survive? I hope so.

Jackie Heninger

Lexington