No on Measures R and S
I know there are many people who think marijuana and everything about it is “OK, “funny” or “cool” and those who are concerned about marijuana just need to get over themselves. Not so! The City Measure R and the County Measure S on the Nov. 8 ballot, if approved, would allow commercial marijuana growing, processing and dispensaries to be located throughout the city of Susanville and on lands in the county that are zoned industrial.
If it’s such a good thing, why have so many citizens raised questions and more than 1,000 voters signed a petition stopping the Susanville city marijuana ordinance? Almost double the number of signatures needed were received in only a few weeks.
If it’s such a good thing, why have Adult / Teen Challenge and Crossroads and so many others warned that it is a gateway drug and worsens addiction for so many?
If it is such a good thing, why are there limitations on where dispensaries (must be 600 feet from schools), and limits on where cultivation and processing may occur … We have many schools, day care facilities, community centers and a library and public parks that could be impacted.
If it is such a good thing, why have city governments been charged with crimes related to selling the right to licenses, and other county governments been offered bribes (Sheriff John Lopey in Siskiyou County filed a successful bribery case against growers in US District Court)? The former mayor of the city of Adelanto, California and other officials have been indicted for various illegal activities.
If it is such a good thing, why was El Dorado County deputy Brian Ishmael killed while responding to a report of petty theft at a supposedly “legal” grow site. He was shot and killed by an employee of the grow, an illegal immigrant.
If it is such a good thing, why are Mendocino and Siskiyou counties in turmoil and citizens struggling to restore their communities?
If it is such a good thing, why did Plumas County vote no on marijuana taxation legalization?
If it’s such a good thing, why is the state of California and the California legislature pushing it as commercial marijuana’s biggest proponent when they’ve run one of the biggest state-funded tobacco anti-smoking campaigns in the nation? For 20 years they have spent approximately $20 million per year or $400 million dollars to stop smoking because it is dangerous to human health.
If it is such a good thing, why does the American Lung Association state that smoking marijuana clearly damages the human lung. Research shows that smoking marijuana causes chronic bronchitis and that vaping or dabbing is particularly harmful to the human lung.
If it is such a good think, why does the Centers for Disease Control state that smoked marijuana delivers THC and other cannabinoids to the body, but it also delivers harmful substances, including many of the same toxins and carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals) found in tobacco smoke, which are harmful to the lungs and cardiovascular system. More research is needed to understand the effects marijuana might have on lung and other respiratory cancers. However, limited evidence of an association between current, frequent, or chronic marijuana smoking and testicular cancer (non-seminoma-type) has been documented.
If it is such a good thing, why does the National Institute of Health on its official website say that: The use of cannabis has been linked to an increased risk of motor vehicle crashes; smoking cannabis during pregnancy has been linked to lower birth weight; and adolescents using cannabis are four to seven times more likely than adults to develop cannabis use disorder.
The use of cannabis, especially frequent use, has been linked to a higher risk of developing schizophrenia or other psychoses (severe mental illnesses) in people who are predisposed to these illnesses?
Just sayin’, “If it’s such a good thing, I’m votin’ no!”
Darwin Solus
Susanville