In response to the April 30 article titled “Recreational marijuana smoking unimportant, should remain illegal”:

What a joke of an article you wrote about legalizing marijuana.

Marijuana Prohibition is an outrage, and the biggest anti-libertarian law I have ever seen. Why is the government regulating what is put into our bodies? Marijuana users ARE NOT infringing on anyone else’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

In these harsh economic times, billions of dollars are wasted on penalizing/incarcerating marijuana users for victimless “crimes.” Money could be saved for the American taxpayers by making marijuana legal and taxing the sale of this medicinal plant. Your biased rhetoric against marijuana is totally false. You have no clue what you are talking about when you say that it will lead to nothing but negative impacts. I wish you would re-evaluate and help to end this irrational prohibition.

— Allen Carlisle,
Vicksburg, Miss.

Why would you rely on government agencies who do not employ medical professionals but merely restate the old lies that have been passed around since the 1930s?

Cannabis does not increase DUI statistics — in fact in the Medical Marijuana states, fatal car crashes are down over 10 percent. Studies at UCLA, Harvard and USF are showing through studies that patients show increased lung capacity, improvement in heart health and improvement in brain function. In fact, just Saturday, I listened, in Tucson, to several doctors explain how after head injuries, one of the most effective treatments would be cannabis, but modern medicine will not study it. The brain’s reactions to cannabis and the healing and restorative properties are responsible for the benefit.

If you would actually speak with varied mental health professionals, you might learn why it helps people with depression, anxiety, PTSD and many other conditions.

I strongly urge you to read about the Endocannabinoid system which is in all of our bodies. You will learn so much about why medical patients find benefit. You will also learn why social users are so adamant about their choice of herbs.

Read Andrew Weil’s teachings about cannabis. He has a center at U of A for Integretive Medicine which is researching many uses of cannabis.

This is not to mention all of the industrial uses from clothes, to fuels, to food, to paper. Please educate yourself. As a journalist, your article’s validity is important. Restating old opinions like Fox News will not work unless you are preaching to the choir.

Also two more important reads: Cannabinomics by Dr. Christopher Fictner and The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer. In these books you will learn many things.

In Cannabinomics you will learn how the U.S. government knew that cannabis helped aids patients and went so far to make Drabinol, the first real RX that helped, Bush made it illegal in 1992.

You will also learn how in the 70s we knew it helped cancer and glaucoma. I learned that we knew it helped Grand Mal Seizure and any seizure patient avoid their episodes. It has also been known since the late 70s that MS patients are helped.

Please educate yourself. It’s not too late. It may save your life or improve it.

— Steve Shapiro

You do realize, of course, that the lack of research and accurate information portrayed here plays directly into the hands of those who consider Arizona to be “inhabited by a bunch of stupid rednecks.”

Anyway, I personally find it pathetic that something like this could actually end up being published. By your own logic cigarettes, alcohol, McDonalds, living in San Francisco and a multitude of other things should be illegal as well. Have a nice life and please don’t get any smarter.

— John Sutula

Please check out www.NationalAllianceforMarijuanaPrevention.Org for supporting data.

You will likely get “slammed” for your point of view, but keep speaking out — loudly! We need your voice to show the majority perspective!

— Dave Meyer,
Drug Free World

I’d like to know if you ever smoke pot for recreational use? Cause you seem to not understand what it’s actually about?

— Pascal Chimienti,
Montreal, Canada

Since marijuana is so dangerous as to justify prohibiting it as a crime, when will the Daily Wildcat come forth advocating in favor of prohibiting alcohol? Since alcohol is at least three to four orders of magnitude (one thousand to ten thousand times) more dangerous than marijuana I hope we don’t have to wait long before people start advocating for a consistent non-hypocritical drug policy. After all, it’s time for drunks and lushes to grow up and learn how to live without alcohol and without liberty.

— Paul O’Day,
Chesterfield, N.H.

In response to the April 30 column titled “Recreational marijuana smoking unimportant, should remain illegal”:

Danielle, if you are truly looking at being a journalist major, you had better do a more thorough research of the facts.

You cite an increased rate in driving accidents — however, in medical marijuana states, there are fewer accidents, and a recent study by an insurance company shows that smokers are safer drivers than non-smokers! It has been shown that when driving high on marijuana, the person driving will generally drive slower than they think they are driving, i.e. if they think they are going 60, they are probably going 30, while alcohol, a legal drug, and it is drug, has shown people seem as though they are driving 30 when they are really driving 60.

I’d rather have my children smoke a joint of weed at a party than drink alcohol, because you know what, it is the lesser of two evils.

The only outcome of keeping marijuana illegal is throwing more minorities in jail and keeping the money flowing into the branches of government who are there to break our liberties.

Who are you to tell me marijuana should remain illegal and that I can’t put it in my body?

— Chad Wollman

In response to the April 29 article titled “Former UA point guard Josiah Turner arrested on suspicion of DUI”:

I do believe an earlier editorial from the Wildcat was correct. We need to do a better job recruiting character, not characters. The thing is, the guys that do this stuff aren’t really all that good athletically, are they? So why not recruit good people and hope you can develop them talent-wise? Makes more sense to me.

— James Gordon Patterson

In response to the April 30 article titled “Josiah Turner’s court date set for May 17”:

Good riddance.

— Lloyd Burman

In response to the April 30 column titled “Raising student-athletes’ GPA minimum sends right message”:

I’m a fan of the change! One injury is enough to ruin a person’s sports career … best to have some brains and the academic experience to support themselves in case that happens.

— Christina Bee