DECRIMINALIZE POT

Reading the paper on Saturday, Jan. 23, I came across the article
about our County Council rejecting the proposed marijuana resolution
for decriminalization. I found myself upset at the comments of Mr. Guy
Enriques. I am alarmed at his views on the subject, and even more so
on what might happen as these ill-guided, misinformed individuals
speak for me and my family.

I truly believe that time spent on combating marijuana and
recreational users is time and money that could and should be spent
first on eradicating ice, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and even alcoholism.

Crystal meth is one of the greatest evils to date. In 2003, in a CBS
special about Hawaii and its meth addiction, Lt. Gov. James Aiona
calls the drug "insidious" and that he's "never seen the devastation
from the other drugs like this."

In a 2005 study on Hawaii's meth use, we ranked No. 5 in the nation,
and 25 percent of total treatment admissions are meth-related, a
statistic only California can beat.

Longtime users are hideous abominations! Rotten teeth, sunken eyes,
bony bodies -- all caused by a drug made from chemicals, cooked and
strained and processed. Users steal, fight and beg for more money to
keep their habit. Does marijuana do that? Do you see potheads twisted
and deformed?

Marijuana is a plant. You say it's a "gateway" drug? I say failure as
a parent is a gateway drug. Alcohol is a gateway drug. I may not want
my doctor stoned, but I don't want a councilman who would have meth
instead of marijuana.

Andy Zamarripa

Hilo