THE HOOPLA OVER MARIJUANA USE BY ADULTS HAS BECOME RIDICULOUS

The repeated, unsuccessful attempts to criminalize marijuana use by
adults is embarrassing and shameful. It is also dishonest. What chief
assistant attorney general Dean Guaneli should have said is that
allowing responsible marijuana use by consenting adults would
seriously cripple the continued inflated budget of law enforcement and
significantly reduce the need to build new prisons ("In passing drug
bill, Senate recognized marijuana hurts Alaskans," Jan. 30). It might
actually draw attention to their humiliating inability to protect us
from violent crimes; violent felons are released before completing
their sentences.

Our constitutions (state and federal) protect our rights as citizens
to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." There is nothing
said that the government has to approve of your pursuit. Only that you
will be held responsible for your actions, certainly not the potential
of harm before it even occurs.

Prohibition and our drug war cause a thousand times more harm than the
99 percent who use marijuana (for whatever reason) in the privacy of
their own homes.

Due to a crippling back injury, I found marijuana to be the only
analgesic to afford me relief for pain; so those who claim no medical
use are liars. Fortunately, I received a procedure that corrected my
injury and I no longer need that blessed relief.

Marty C. Keef

Girdwo