SUH TAKES POT SHOTS BY MAKING VALUE JUDGMENTS

In response to Elizabeth Suh's column, ("This bud's for you, not me," April
19) that intended to avoid the debate about why marijuana users are bad,
Suh does just that: make value judgments about those who smoke pot.

If her argument is that meaningful connections can only be made while
sober, than she is de-legitimizing the experiences of a healthy fraction of
our university (and global) population. Perhaps it is hurtful for someone
who is drug-free to believe people who use marijuana do have experiences
just as valuable and real as those who choose to abstain. The most pressing
issue in her column was not that her friend was a pothead, but that he
neglected her feelings even when confronted about his exorbitant pot use.
Why engage in a relationship in which one's feelings are ignored.

I do not appreciate Suh's "othering" of marijuana users. A good/bad binary
is not the answer when the issue is so much more complex. People who smoke
pot can be anyone from politicians superiors at work, our friends, lovers
or relatives. Not all individuals who smoke are losers who sleep all day
and can't "make anything of [their] lives." Suh would probably be shocked
to know there are plenty of productive members of society who light up
blunts or take bong hits. I do believe there are alternatives to getting
high, especially when someone expresses issues that should be dealt with
professionally.

If someone you know is having a hard time tapering their drug habits even
when they negatively affect other people and make it difficult to function
on a daily basis, a good friend would probably help that person seek
counseling, not further a conditional relationship in which the pot user is
outcasted when stoned and welcomed when sober. I simply don't see how that
constitutes "caring" about someone.

Nancy Leu

Senior, Women's studies