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
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