PUBLIC VIEWPOINT

Put Away Fears On Medical Marijuana

I sincerely hope that people will put away their fear of marijuana long enough to vote to legalize medical marijuana.

It is not a drug. It is a healing herb.

The mother of a friend used it to ease the discomfort and mood swings of menopause. When my turn came, I used it, too.

It worked for us both and was not habit-forming. It also worked for friends who suftered PMS. Weed made life more comfortable for us all and for those around us.

In the 1970s I worked with hundreds of Vietnam veterans who used weed to ease their physical and emotional pain and to remain calm in crises.

When pain started making a friend’s life miserable, he discoveredthat brownies baked with weed made the pain go away. He was not loopy.

He could think clearly and move comfortably. But his doctor put him on pain medications to which he is now addicted. They muddle his thinking without ever doing more than reducing some of the pain.

I would very much like to see if weed would lessen my arthritis pains, especially on gray, damp, chilly days. I love those days for the ground and plants after the summer’s drought, but not for my bodily joints. Wet weather and winter are never kind to them. And I am hardly alone in this suft ering. Just think how many arthritis sufterers might be helped if we could ingest a healing, nonaddictive weed.

Please, vote to legalize medical marijuana.

NANCY SAUNDERS

DurhamCHICKENS OFFER BENEFITS

Iwould like to comment

on the “Chicken Ordinance Dead” article in Friday’s paper, specifically in regard to comments made by Sharon Ferguson and Judy Pennington.

Chickens do not bring vermin to residences. I live in a subdivision and have had four chickens for more than a year now. I have had no problems with vermin.

As a matter of fact, I had a neighbor who refused to mow her back yard; guess what resulted? Rats. She has since moved.

My neighbors have not complained about my chickens and why should they? Barking dogs make more noise on a daily basis and even into the night. As for the smell, the neighbors on either side of me have big dogs and their feces smells much worse than my chickens. I have had to retreat into my house some days because the smell of feces from their dogs is so bad.

Chickens provide eggs, they eat most table scraps and their litter provides fertilizer for my yard and garden. My yard is the greenest in the neighborhood.

The arguments against responsible chicken ownership in a residential area holds no basis in fact.

Opinion, Pages 12 on 09/30/2012

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