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CHOOSE SENSIBLE POT POLICY

In the Oct.  20 A section of The News-Journal, there are at least four instances of violence and antisocial behavior attributed to the recreational use of alcohol.  Two of these instances are connected with local elected officials, one was group behavior at a Pumpkin Fest in New Hampshire and the fourth was a sad case of mistaken identity where the bars of the local jail in Paw Paw, Michigan, were mistaken for the bar at a woman's favorite pub, when she went there to pick up her boyfriend - at least making her arrest for DUI one step less for the local police officer.

My point: With all of the brouhaha over the possibility of marijuana being made available for use in medical treatments, and the dark cloud of it will lead us to legalization for all, I can reliably say that in more than 50 years of seeing the behavior of folks under the influence of pot, I have never once witnessed this kind of misbehavior in the newspaper on that one day.

Perhaps the world would be a better place if there were no substances used for recreational purposes, but since I doubt that notion would be approved by the majority, can't we use a little common sense in what we do and do not allow? Alcohol is portrayed as being so much fun when used responsibly, and indeed it is.  Pot's image over the years has mostly been personified by Cheech and Chong movies and family stories about the kid whose life went all downhill after smoking one joint.  Worse than that is the oft-told story of the promising young person who acquires a criminal record and possibly prison time because of one foolish decision having to do with marijuana.  We can do better than that!

Steve Boone

Flagler Beach