And for dessert, hash brownies

Should marijuana users really be given the same punishments as rapists
or pedophiles? If you are going to try and criminalize marijuana
again, don't lack the research on the medicinal herb, Frank Murkowski!

I am appalled that you want to put me in jail for five years because I
have four ounces of herb. Personally, I get more impaired from legal
drugs such as coffee, alcohol, and pharmaceuticals than I do from marijuana.

However, let us step back from this so-called "drug" and see what
products can be made from the plant's stalks (hemp). I have split the
uses into these categories: Food, Healing, Toiletries, Textile,
Household and Industrial. Below are a few products under each category.

Food: Hemp oil is high in essential fatty acids. It can be drizzled
over salad, pasta, and hummus, and used for baking.

Healing: Aromatherapy, salve, and nutritional healing.

Toiletries: Lipstick, sunscreen, soaps, hand and body lotions, and
shampoo.

Textile: socks, shirts, shoes, tarps, wallets, jackets, bags, belts,
and napkins.

Household: rugs/carpet, paint, shoe polish, webbing, cordage, candles,
crayons, and laundry detergent.

Industrial: pulp and paper, plaster, plastic, concrete, wood chips and
bio-diesel fuel.

When will the people realize we are running out of resources? When
will we adapt as humans and stop prosecuting others for using much
more than a medicinal herb? This renewable resource should be
embraced, not criminalized!

WILLIAM CONNOR

Fairbanks, Alaska