MURDER SUSPECT'S ACCOUNT GIVES GOOD REASON TO VOTE AGAINST POT

The best reason to vote against the legalization of marijuana has
unfortunately been presented to us in the face of an angelic-looking
16-year-old who stands charged with a horrific murder, carried out
while he was, by his own account, "stoned on pot" ("Woman's body found
in freezer," Oct. 22). The activists urging Alaskans to take the lead
in decriminalizing a dangerous substance have been blindsided by ugly
reality.

No, I am not foolish enough to believe that the availability of
marijuana is the sole cause of Mrs. Cotting's death. But neither am I
foolish enough to believe that legalizing a harmful, recreational drug
will make it more difficult for children and teenagers to obtain it.
No amount of slick statistics about how much tax money we will save or
high-flown rhetoric about privacy and rights of the individual will
persuade the parents of this state to send the message to our children
and grandchildren that pot is anything except what it is -- a
controlled and dangerous drug.

Mary Alice Cook

Eagle River