Editor:
With deep regret I submit this apology to the youngsters of Sweet Home, present and future.
In the haste to prove ourselves as worthy adults we have condemned you to unnecessary anguish in your coming years. In the name of “progress” and “economic development” we have agreed to allow marijuana to move into this town.
This is a drug that has two sides, one is for medical relief from human illness, however the other just allows humans to “play with it” for personal satisfaction. The medical side is controlled by strict prescription from a medical professional; the other has no control except to say it can not be sold to anyone under the age of 21.
We, as adults who pay taxes to make it possible for this town to have a budget, have elected officials we’ve agreed could decide for us what laws to obey and which to rebel against.
It is a federal law that the possession of marijuana without a medical reason is illegal, yet because state of Oregon officials defied that law, your health and future are sacrificed.
I discovered, after inquiry, that the town’s financial budget allows the officials to implement any control they agree upon. A citizen who objects (who has already paid through taxes into that budget) to any decision made by the officials, that individual can appeal the decision.
However, this particular decision can be appealed at the cost of $569.00 to the individual.
I apologize to all of the youth and future youth for failing to be able to submit an appeal because it is beyond my personal budget.
The new store in town will be selling to anyone with the funds to pay for it. It is beyond their control of what happens to the product after it leaves that store. Because marijuana can be put into commodities known as candy, cookies, cakes, etc., you will be at the mercy of anyone who sees such “treats” as something to “let you in on.”
It is a habitual drug; your body will then crave it, you will not feel good without it, and you then will need to find a way to obtain it through a consenting adult. There will be one somewhere, because they will need it too.
The funds to pay for it will have to be searched for. For young people the lack of financial gain due to shortage of employment in this town is a fact. Unfortunately, as humans we often chose to steal to raise funds.
As the budget for law enforcement in our town is limited, again we have failed to be concerned for your future in the name of “economic development.”
There is a Creator we will answer to. To quote an unknown source, “We tend to call Him God. So I will end with this “We do not break God’s laws. We break ourselves on them.”
Bonnie J. Neal
Sweet Home