Marijuana Response
Dear Editor: I have thought hard (albeit not long) about whether or not to respond to Mr. Platson’s Feb. 20 Letter to the Editor, re: “Marijuana Industry.” And I have subsequently decided that to not reply to his articulate, reasoned and impassioned screed against folks being able to enjoy marijuana without being hassled by folks like himself, is, well, implicitly supporting efforts to ignore and in fact overturn the clearly mandated decision of the voters of Alaska to let weed be. Just simply... be.
But before proceeding, permit me to establish that I completely understand and respect where Mr. Platson is coming from: as both a professional, “certified substance use and abuse prevention specialist and an alcohol and other drug abuse counselor”; and, as an obviously, earnestly, and deeply concerned citizen of Sitka. Having said all that, it’s just that I think that he is wrong.
Having said all that, then; rather than inviting folks to do a little first-hand research of and on their own (beyond just Googling), into, for example, how things have been going with regard to everything that Mr. Platson is so concerned about in the states where recreational marijuana is now and has been legally available (i.e., Colorado, Washington, and Oregon) ...; rather than all that, I think, I have only one comment.
It is framed as a question for Mr. Platson and those legions no doubt assembling, even as we speak, unto and upon his call to arms:
Are y’all as prepared to impose the same restrictions on the Sitka alcohol and tobacco industries as you are to inflict upon the not-even-yet-nascent local marijuana “industry”?
If so, sir (sirs, madams, etc.), then you are, with all due respect, as but an idealistic and irrelevant reed in the wind. That is, if you actually think that any such proposed control of booze and tobacco has even the remotedestly coldest snowball’s chances of surviving in hell.
If, on the other hand, madams, sirs and etc, You are NOT prepared to regulate the local alcohol and tobacco industries to the same extent, and by the same standards, imperatives, and practices that you would control grass, then, and again with all due respect, such as it is, you are not only (or even merely), by contrast, a realist; but alas, also, and ultimately, you are a hypocrite.
As but the simplest and easiest way to confirm this assertion, you are invited to look at the numbers you provided in your argument cataloging the cost, and the costs, of booze and t’baccy: the numbers of dead, and/or dying, and/or who were wishing that they were, and/or have been consigned to being as good as. And – of particularly curious note about one so self-declaredly concerned about the well-being of his fellow humans – is the ultimate Question as to exactly who is paying for all this (almost as if this was actually almost the critical issue).
Just for starters, I would first invite You to consider that question that all Latin-literate lawyers once dared to ask: Cui Bono?; or, Who benefits? i.e., who benefits from the illegality of cannabis? Which drug dealers? And, more importantly, which of their investors? And, which “security and surveillance, enforcement and interdiction” operators and operatives? And their investors? Who exactly, Mr. Platson, would actually, really benefit from your proposed usurpation of the will of the Alaskan voters on this totally peripheral, at best irrelevant issue? Other than, of course, those whose snouts are already in the trough.
I, with not a little ironic chagrin, further noted from your LTE, Mr. Platson, that you provided no statistics at all about the number of people who have actually died – in, for example, car wrecks, NRA-sanctioned armed family and/or classroom disputes, random encounters outside a bar or on the street, and what have you – from just being stoned (as opposed to being drunk; and/or chronically nicotined/caffeinated; and/or under the unfortunate flipped-out influence of those for whom, for example, “America,” or “Islam,” or “Israel,” or “the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution,” or “illegal immigrants,” or “whatever,” is all that really matters.)
I look forward to any further dialogue.
J.G. Moebus, Sitka Platoon of
Veterans Against War
Mountainside
Dear Editor: I lived in Sitka with my family for 32 years and we have recently left Sitka. When we first arrived in Sitka in 1983, our family was quickly welcomed and embraced into the community. Sitka is a rare community that seems capable of nurturing all who live there.
During the last 10 years I was a primary healthcare provider at Mountainside Family Healthcare. My work with patients has always brought me personal joy and pleasure. It is amazing to see and feel a respectful and trusting relationship unfold while simply caring for a person or family. I felt honored and privileged to be able to practice in Sitka.
My personal and professional life has been greatly enriched by my experiences with individuals and families who were patients. Thank you for the opportunity to become more than I thought I could be.
Danna-Ben Seeland, Sitka
