On Jan. 8, 2012, The Herald ran the guest commentary, “A practical approach to marijuana control,” authored by former U.S. attorney and Seattle University law professor John McKay, travel guru Rick Steves, and Roger Roffman, professor emeritus at the University of Washington, praising the positive effects the public would receive with the passage of I-502.
These so-called experts on the law and drug involvement in our communities stated that “1-502 would cut law enforcement costs and improve the public health and safety.” Since The Herald ran this commentary, I am a little confused why it has not run a follow-up article to inform the public how the claims of these so-called experts have cut law enforcement costs and improved the public safety in our communities.
The Herald has run enough individual stories involving marijuana since the passage of 1-502 to write a small book. The stories detail property damage and deaths from hash oil production explosions, armed robberies of marijuana dealers and enough traffic deaths to enlarge most of our graveyards.
Recently the superintendent of the Edmonds School District stated that marijuana possession in the district has greatly gone up. This does not sound like the claims made by these drug experts are coming true. These claims do not show the only groups making any money since the passage of 1-502 are the folks involved in the production, processing and sale of marijuana and treatment of marijuana addicts. The aforementioned incidents does not include the heartache and sadness suffered by the victims families and friends of those folks who have come into contact with the users of marijuana since the passage of I-502.
Doesn’t The Herald think the public should be entitled to know the rest of the story? Recently I think I would rather have a motorist smoke a cigarette before he entered a crosswalk in his car than “a bowl of marijuana as the motorist stated” when he killed me. (The Herald, Nov. 28.) New studies now show even infrequent use of marijuana by teens causes damage to their brains after recent tests.
Jim Tagart
Snohomish
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