Pubdate: Thu, 31 Mar 2011 Source: Chico News & Review, The (CA) Copyright: 2011 Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact: http://www.newsreview.com/chico/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/559 Author: Heidi Hameed Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n148/a03.html POT'S AN ANSWER TO PRAYER Re "A proliferation of pot" (Editorial, March 3): I read this editorial with horror and anger. The powers that be keep looking at this issue through impure motives: 1) the desire to control and 2) fear of reprisal. Anyone who's been in the cannabis industry in any form will tell you that it's effective, safe and potentially the earner that small farms and individuals need to feed their children, send them to school, develop into community, etc. We're not the ones who are fighting each other-it's the people in charge who are lording it over suffering people, mentally and physically ill as well as financially suffering people. It's not unlike the revolts in places like Libya, where people are crying out for freedom and the establishment is coming with guns drawn at peaceful, honest, hardworking people who are simply trying to make a living. The only difference is that instead of actual shooting, they hold a gun to your face and threaten to. It isn't fair to have big pharmaceutical companies sell so-called meds that are subject to recall because of side effects while cannabis has never killed anyone! How many deaths are attributed to Vicodin, Oxycodone, etc? How many of these side effects have led to homicides, suicides, etc? None of these deaths can be attributed to the use of cannabis, which has been proven to be a very effective medicine. It's past time for the legalization of cannabis, both federally and locally. It's time to open it up for tourists to come and spend freely-do you hear me? Freely. At a time when we need resources so badly and our state is in such financial straits, we should take advantage of every opportunity we're presented with. This plant is an answer to prayer-not a plague to fear! Heidi Hameed Paradise - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake