Marijuana should only be given to the terminally ill

I think that medical marijuana should only be prescribed to the terminally ill. This is because if doctors give it to someone who has just a cold, people will eventually begin to abuse one's right to have medical marijuana. Giving it to the terminally ill will give them some sort of comfort. Terminally ill patients who have been through a lot of pain deserve to be without pain when they pass.

Giving marijuana to patients with a cold, or even kids with ADHD or autism, is not acceptable. The active ingredient in marijuana, THC, actually makes people hyper and inattentive, which is exactly what parents of children with ADHD are trying to avoid. It is proven that if you smoke marijuana, one will lose brain cells. If one were to give marijuana to their children, they could ruin a child's ability to learn. It is one thing to give person marijuana if they are dying and wish to be out of pain, but it is another to give marijuana to an innocent child and ruin their ability to learn.

Maddie Hill

Silt

When the gas company leaves, what will be left?

Again, we are hit with the oil and gas companies' inadequate methods of dealing with the waste and remains of poorly planned toxic gas drilling. The liners, used to collect the waste from gas drilling, are, and I quote the Post-Independent, “synthetic material covered in sludge from the drilling process, and have been banned from the county's landfill facilities”.

These liners are “too toxic, for the landfill staff to deal with effectively”. The poor Rio Blanco County landfill will take some of the liners but the increase in drilling has posed a disposal problem. Garfield County now will be looking at building very expensive repositories at the landfill for the liners, or locating some other disposal site … Mesa County, Utah.

With up to 7000 anticipated gas wells, the citizenry of Garfield County as well as Rio Blanco and Mesa will be assaulted again by lack of coordinated ecological planning that includes the health and welfare of our citizens and the sanctity of our land.

Obviously, this is an oil and gas sacrifice area; we are collateral damage. When the gas company leaves, what will be left? Who is watching out for our beautiful land, our water, our air and our health?

Alice Gustafson

Glenwood Springs

A peaceful demonstration planned for Sunday

By now, I'm sure that all of you are aware there is some controversy regarding the Wilderness Workshop's Hidden Gems wilderness proposal. There is a fundraiser scheduled for this Sunday, Dec. 6, at 5:30 p.m., at the Wheeler in Aspen. Some of my friends and I are going to be present outside the Wheeler in a peaceful demonstration to show our opposition.

This is a citizen campaign only, therefore, we should refrain from associating our presence with any organization for or against this proposal. John Salazar does not seem to care what we think about the Hidden Gems Campaign.

It is our hope to get the attention of John Salazar on the street to tell him what we think and get a response from him that is not some generic reply from some staffer in his office. Please join us if you have something to say about it. I think it would be a good thing for them to just see some opposition to the proposal in person, if nothing else.

Thank you.

Ginger Gage

Rifle