OUTLAWING SHRUBBERY WASTE OF TIME, MONEY

In the race to keep their names in the paper and score points for
re-election, our legislators sometimes do some strange things.

Take Sen. Tim Burchett's war on shrubs as an example: Burchett and
Rep. Parkey Strader have decided to waste the public's time and money
attempting to criminalize possession of landscape trees and shrubbery
because they're desperately afraid someone might try to get "high."
The list of plants includes at least one that's listed as edible by
the University of Florida agricultural department and several that
are used to make prescription medications. Some of these plants have
been around here longer than we have and have never been a problem.
Why are we wasting time and money now? Don't they think the police
and the courts have enough to do?

How much more time and money do they plan to waste if we give them
another two years?

THE REV. TIMOTHY W. RENNELS

Knoxville