TRUSTEE OPENED UP A MARIJUANA DIALOGUE

Re: "'Allen makes mockery of system by refusing seat' ( Daily News, Dec. 13)

Donna Allen is "taking political action that is so desperately needed
to invigorate our democracy" in the words of an NDN columnist by
resigning her seat on the school board.

Her action has had the effect of opening up the dialogue of how our
culture will designate the use of marijuana for either recreational,
and/or medicinal use and also for what age group marijuana use should
be particularly discouraged, for health reasons, and also because of
the danger of addiction.

The all male dissenters (so far) are dismissing and down playing the
fact that a new school board member publicly minimized the fact that
he broke the law and now has a criminal conviction as a mere nothing,
and also did not clarify if this mere nothing now prevents him from
continuing to grow marijuana, smoke it, and who knows what else since
he sees his actions as utterly innocuous.

If Donna Allen had taken action and attempted to make a criminal
conviction an issue for school board election when she was not on the
board, when she was just a private citizen, I don't know that the
press or anybody would have taken notice.

Drug addiction is one of the most serious problems that our society
faces, and as adults we bear the responsibility of protecting youth
from this scourge if we possibly can, and it won't be easy, and you
won't win a popularity contest for trying.

Madeline Bruce

Nanaimo