Pubdate: Mon, 09 Nov 2009 Source: Summit Daily News (CO) Copyright: 2009 Summit Daily News Contact: http://apps.summitdaily.com/forms/letter/index.php Website: http://www.summitdaily.com/home.php Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/587 Author: Jim Cowles WELCOME TO "BRECKENDAM" I was amazed that 72 percent of Breckenridge voted for the concept that marijuana should be legalized. I have heard all the standard reasons for that position. These are a few. "The police are too busy with other things, and that freeing them from having to enforce this would be a benefit to all." Since when did pot smokers care anything about the police? "If you are sick, this will help you." That is not what the good websites dealing with marijuana say. "I did it and it did not hurt me." How do you know? Research says that this stuff can cause brain damage. I wonder what you would have been like if you had not done it? "Everyone else does it." Maybe you are hanging around with the wrong people. "If alcohol is legal, so should pot." This is the saddest reason yet. Yes, alcohol is bad, but adding a drug to the mix does not help. What is so difficult about saying no to damaging products like this? We can already see the problems with medical marijuana all over the county because there are no guidelines to go by. And, you can see some, in the area, who clearly have gone over the limit for themselves and are not really all there. Is it fair for vacation skiers to sit on the chairlift and have to smell the marijuana smoke from some dirtbags in the chair in front? What about the children and youth? Do you care if they try it? If it is easy to get, they will. What kind of parents would feel that way? If you have ever been to Amsterdam, you might be seeing Breckenridge's future. Let's change the name now to Breckendam and get it over with. There is one good thing about all this. Research had shown that regular pot users tend to be impotent. If that is the case, maybe they will just disappear in a few years. Check out the web site for the National Institute on Drug Abuse. I believe what they say far more than sites that say marijuana is harmless. Drunk drivers who also use pot, are more are more dangerous than those who do not. I know that many who voted for this measure believe that they are doing a good thing by showing love and understanding. You think that you are giving freedom and joy to those who start this. But in reality, they will lose their freedom and become a prisoner. I feel sorry for the families in Breckenridge who have homes there, and want to raise their children in a nice environment. Jim Cowles Breckenridge - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom