Pubdate: Fri, 14 May 2004
Source: Ocean County Observer (NJ)
Copyright: 2004 Ocean County Observer
Contact:  http://www.injersey.com/observer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1212
Author: Michele Kirsch

USAGE OF STREET DRUGS OBVIOUS IN OCEAN COUNTY

This is in response to an April 2 letter "Point of marijuana letter
was not clear" from Terrance Farley.

He states, "I'm still trying to determine the point of letter."

No kidding. By the words written in his letter it's very obvious that
he missed the point.

My original letter said, with my own eyes, I see the use of street
drugs is more out of hand now than ever before and that it's that
world of drugs that needs his immediate attention.

Instead of getting my point, he had a tunnel vision view of medical
marijuana minions getting on his case.

Then he jumped right back on his bash anyone that writes about medical
marijuana band wagon, and started throwing out his stats, and
nonsense, like what Canada might be doing with marijuana.

Why do I care about a company in Canada when the point I was making is
that while he is banging out yet another letter to the press about
that subject, things like Special K, crack cocaine and Ecstasy are
being bought, sold and used in record numbers right here in Ocean County?

Farley goes on to say, "Obviously she doesn't read much of the
newspaper."

Was that supposed to make me look as if I'm a silly, uneducated person
as to demean anything I say?

Yes, I do read newspapers, such as an article on an athletic team of
teens using harsh street drugs such as Ecstasy.

The only way they got noticed is because one of them was found
unconscious at his school.

Where was Farley when they were buying it, writing a letter on
medicinal marijuana?

One morning, after reading one of Farley's letters to the press, I was
sitting in my car at a fast food establishment on Route 37, in Toms
River.

I saw a drug deal going down.

This happened only months after I had to sell my house in another
Ocean County town that I loved because of a drug-using and
drug-dealing type of problem.

I made phone calls and wrote letters to county offices.

Even when I was about to move, I made another call and stated that I
hate to still leave the problem behind to other people who live around
there.

I was told, "It's not your problem. If people are going to move into a
neighborhood, it's up to them to check it out first."

These are just some examples of what I've seen right here, not what I
can dig up from other statistics from around the world.

Farley ended his letter with a saying aimed at me and the words, "Pun
definitely intended."

I guess it made him feel good to do that, but it wasn't a
pun.

It didn't correlate with his letter at all.

MICHELE KIRSCH Toms River 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake