To the editor:

With all of the problems we are having with alcohol across the country, now we want to legalize recreational marijuana. Spectrum News, had a panel discussion on Issue 2 with some interesting facts.

The Woodstock weed from the 60’s had a THC content of 4 to 5%. The manufacturers today of legalized marijuana will be capped at 35% THC rate in Ohio. Four out of ten people who start out with marijuana go on to harder drugs. A mother on the panel said her son smoked marijuana every day, and went on to develop a psychosis, seeing and hearing things that were not there. Traffic and workplace accidents will increase as the drug use grows.

All I hear from the pro side is how much money there will be to be made –greed at it’s best. You cannot put a price on a young person’s life. The mother went on to say everywhere you go in the states that have legalized it, all you smell is marijuana. A person having a drink only affects himself. Almost half of the smokers in the legalized recreational states are teenagers whose brains are not yet fully developed leading to health problems in the future. The congressman on the panel said the marijuana will be regulated and sold only to those 21 and over, yeah.

A better way to handle this issue would be to put it through the state legislature where hearings would be held and expert witnesses brought in for debate. Not an up or down vote in November.

Bob Shilling,

Salem