Dear Editor,
It pained me to see in today’s issue of your newspaper, the report that a man hanged himself while in the Lethem lock-up for possession of 60 grams of marijuana.
How many more unnecessary deaths must we have before we legalize (not decriminalize) marijuana? It is proven that there are more damaging consequences from the use of alcohol (death and injury by driving, death and injury in fights, beatings and deaths of women) and tobacco (cancer and a host of medical complications). Yet a drug that calms you, a drug with far fewer negative consequences, and with proven medical benefits, is being given such a bad rap.
Whoever wins the next election needs to look at this anomaly. It is time to legalize marijuana.
Yours faithfully,
Clairmont Lye
