Vote Yes on 2 By Hunter Smith October 20, 2014
I wish to respond to Substance Screening business owner Renee Schofield. I also wish to encourage Ketchikan citizens to vote Yes on 2. Mrs. Schofield is correct in that we currently have no hand-held roadside testing device to administer for stoned drivers. But the true reason for this is because Marijuana is illegal. How can a business develop a roadside testing device if they can't actually legally test and develop it? Think about it. Only in Washington and Colorado can a business legally test and develop devices to accurately measure Marijuana impairment. To test such a device one needs Marijuana to test with and willing participants. In fact, this is one of the many new industries/jobs springing up in these two states. Such a device is just around the corner, and it will come about due to legalization. After which, every police officer in the country will have one. Furthermore, as AAPOC (Alaska Association of Chiefs of Police) state: Alaska Police Officers are not currently trained to recognize “impairment based on symptomology” 1 . Meaning Officers are not trained to recognize how an impaired driver acts. AAPOC actually implies that only if Prop 2 passes, will our local Police Officers get trained to recognize Marijuana impairment. Personally I find this quite negligent and is a major reason to vote Yes on 2. Other law enforcement professionals find this negligent too, see source 2 . There you have it, two reasons that ending Marijuana Prohibition will make our roads in Alaska safer. Should Prop 2 not pass, our roads will just continue to be policed by Officers without proper training. Alaska already has the most pot smokers than any other state 3 . Keeping Marijuana illegal won't change this, it will only allow drivers to continue driving impaired. Regarding the transportation of edibles? Last time I checked, TSA is still governed by federal law. If Prop 2 passes, edibles will remain just as difficult to transport as they are now, including within the state. Regarding dangerous production of butane hash oil; If Prop 2 passes, Landlords can still prohibit such activities in leases and other legal documents, just as employers can prohibit Marijuana use by employees. Mrs. Schofield should know this as Pot testing is a major source of revenue and a special interest of her own. Regarding this “outside-funded initiative”. I donated to the Yes on 2 campaign. I encourage other young Alaskan Adults to do the same. I was born and raised here in Ketchikan and I support the end of Marijuana Prohibition like many others whom are quite local here in Alaska. Myself and over 30,000 other valid Alaskan voters signed the Petition to have Prop 2 on the ballet. We are your children and young adults whom represent the majority of occasional pot users here in Alaska. The last point I wish to make; Mrs. Schofield is the owner of a local Substance Screening Business. Like many of the other opponents of Prop 2, she stands to lose much revenue from testing our young Alaskan’s for Marijuana use before they get a job. Her corporation has offices in a number of other states 4 , which makes her opinion just as national as supporters of Prop 2. Renee, should you choose to respond to this, I invite you to provide sources for any supposed facts you present. I have done you this courtesy, and would hope the same in return. Personally, I don't care if a local grocery worker or city employee smokes pot in their off time, that is their own business, not mine and not yours. I support jobs for our young Alaskan adults and any business/job opportunity they wish to pursue, regardless of whether they smoke a little pot. Think about this parents, the more intolerant we are in this state, and the more difficult we make it for young adults to live here, the more likely they will follow many other young Alaskans and move south to places like Seattle. Vote Yes on 2. Sincerely, Hunter Smith About: Born and raised Ketchikan resident. 33 years old. Related Viewpoint:
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Received October 17, 2014 - Published October 20, 2014 Viewpoints - Opinion Letters:
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Vote No on Ballot Measure 2