Pubdate: Sun, 28 Jun 2009
Source: Montgomery Advertiser (AL)
Copyright: 2009 The Advertiser Co.
Contact: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/customerservice/letter.htm
Website: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1088
Note: Letters from the newspaper's circulation area receive publishing priority
Author: Loretta Nall

DAVIS IGNORES MARIJUANA ISSUE

Recently the Artur Davis for Governor campaign solicited ideas from
the public on their Web site to about how to move Alabama forward. I
submitted ending marijuana prohibition as a way to ease prison
overcrowding, as a new source of revenue for our cash-starved state,
and as a means of creating new jobs to offset the highest unemployment
rates Alabama has seen in 25 years.

Out of 80 ideas, legalizing marijuana was voted to the No. 1 slot with
118 votes. Eighty-eight percent of those votes were in favor of
legalization.

Despite the marijuana idea being the top vote getter, no mention of it
was made in Artur Davis's video response to the ideas released on June
25.

What is the point in asking the public to submit ideas if he is going
to ignore the most popular one? If he doesn't favor ending marijuana
prohibition then why doesn't he just say so? To ignore all the voters
who took the time to visit his site and participate is shameful. It's
no way to treat potential voters.

The marijuana community isn't going to be ignored in the political
arena any longer. Politicians must be made to address this issue,
especially when they solicited it and it was ranked the top idea on
their site, even if they don't say what we want to hear. We can vote
and we have money. If anyone would like our votes and money then we
need to make them state clearly what they will do to end marijuana
prohibition.

Loretta Nall

Alexander City 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake