Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes letters from readers online and successful people each day. To contribute, click here.
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I conscionable work the nonfiction "More small kids are mistaking edible cannabis for candy" published successful the Star Tribune connected Jan. 4. While this is intelligibly an issue, it's not new. Why blasted cannabis for this phenomenon? This has been going connected for years. Think astir however medicine, weight-loss gummies, vitamins and adjacent detergent pods look enticing to children due to the fact that they look and sensation similar candy.
I'm a small perplexed astir the quality that truly isn't quality astatine all. It's astir adults decently storing their edibles on with each different medicine to stay retired of the scope of children. It's nary much than communal consciousness — erstwhile radical really workout it. Perhaps if we stopped making medicine and cannabis truthful enticing to children, the occupation wouldn't beryllium truthful pervasive. Why bash Americans person to beryllium babied into taking medicine, vitamins oregon different remedies to get/remain healthy? In Europe, medicine tastes unspeakable and is taken lone erstwhile perfectly needed.
Please halt sensationalizing entree to cannabis unsocial and proceed to beforehand harmless retention of all products that are harmful to children.
Cathy Johnson, Burnsville
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"Follow the science: Don't legalize pot" (Opinion Exchange, Jan. 3) makes an fantabulous point. With the subject truthful beardown against legalizing this drug, wherefore would the Minnesota Legislature adjacent see doing so? For those who usage pot, is that precocious truthful important to your beingness restitution that you deliberation the remainder of nine should abide each the negatives: impaired driving, lowered IQ successful young adults, imaginable addiction and psychiatric issues? No way.
Lucyan Mech, Lauderdale
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The magnitude of misinformation connected the taxable of legalizing marijuana is astatine an all-time precocious (no pun intended). The commentary "Follow the science: Don't legalize pot" by John Hagen successful Tuesday's Opinion Exchange is simply a cleanable example.
First of all, the idiosyncratic Hagen cites and quotes, Kevin Sabet, has an anti-legalization agenda, truthful not amazingly each of his "evidence" comes with an anti-legalization bias. Note: Hagen states Sabet is "of the Yale Medical School." For the record, Sabet is an adjunct prof adjunct astatine Yale's Medical School and a chap astatine Yale's Institution for Social and Policy Studies. He besides states Sabet has been an advisor to 3 presidents. However, there's nary notation of Sabet ever holding a presumption of authorization connected legalization policy.
Hagen provides 4 slug points accordant with his anti-legalization platform: 1) Pot impairs world performance. 2) Marijuana is associated with psychosis, bipolar upset and different intelligence wellness diseases. 3) Marijuana is addictive. 4) Fatal car crashes summation sharply aft legalization.
The anti-legalization folks person trumpeted these claims for years, yet erstwhile I looked, I couldn't find 1 shred of grounds successful his commentary that supported immoderate of these statements. The remainder of his commentary contains much unsubstantiated claims: "George Soros alone, apparently, has shoveled $200 cardinal into legalization." Billionaires and large concern person "poured waterfalls of cash" into legalization promotional campaigns. Very bold, eye-catching statements, but thing to backmost them up.
In contrast, I was capable to find an article published by the Huffington Post successful 2016 regarding deaths owed to overdosing connected marijuana: "In 2015, the complaint of perfectly zero deaths from a marijuana overdose remained dependable from the twelvemonth before, according to figures released successful December by the Centers for Disease Control. But portion Americans aren't dying arsenic a effect of marijuana overdoses, the aforesaid can't beryllium said for a scope of different substances, some ineligible and illicit." Without presenting immoderate further evidence, I'm guessing that stat hasn't changed. To their credit, Hagen and Sabet are successful favour of decriminalizing and expunging past convictions for idiosyncratic use. However, successful my view, that benignant of argumentation is accordant with legalization.
Facts and evidence. In a tribunal of law, and successful an effort to unafraid a favorable verdict, Hagen would person been expected to contiguous these types of things. Unfortunately, that was not the lawsuit connected Tuesday, and folks were erstwhile again misinformed connected an important taxable by self-proclaimed "experts" who person a biased agenda.
Steve Ettel, Golden Valley
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Though I'm definite to disappoint galore readers, I conscionable can't get down the projected legalization of recreational marijuana that is forecast to beryllium considered successful the upcoming legislative session. There are respective arguments 1 could make; present I volition absorption connected nationalist information connected our roads. To my knowledge, determination is nary roadside trial to find however "stoned" a operator is, nary "legal limit" arsenic a guide. There are varying strengths of marijuana, depending connected root and supplier. Occasionally, determination mightiness adjacent beryllium immoderate different cause laced in, possibly chartless to the smoker. Legalization mightiness bring uniformity to immoderate products, but amerciable sources volition unluckily inactive beryllium circulating.
Just recently, portion retired for a locomotion successful a St. Paul park, my spouse and I observed a mates sharing a associated successful a parked car. The windows were open, and the odor wafting retired was unmistakable. Within a fewer minutes, the car was gone. Just however impaired the operator was is anybody's guess.
Surely I americium not unsocial erstwhile I accidental I person attended an lawsuit wherever idiosyncratic showed up evidently stoned (and admitted it to others) but had driven crossed the Twin Cities to get to the event.
Legalizing marijuana without having sorted retired guidelines for drivers and due roadside investigating volition lone summation postulation accidents and fatalities. We are already endangered capable connected our roads by speeding, tailgating, distracted driving and drunken driving. Let's not adhd (more) stoned drivers to the list.
Lisa Wersal, Vadnais Heights
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John Hagen's commentary proclaiming the adverse effects of legalization of marijuana claims to beryllium science-based. Unfortunately, that presumption is, itself, unscientific. I americium not a proponent oregon hostile of legalization. (I'm adjacent much pristine than Bill Clinton. Marijuana — successful immoderate signifier — has ne'er entered my body.) However, arsenic a retired physician, I cognize that making "scientific" claims astir biologic effects of substance usage is tenuous. Take, for example, the ebb and travel of "science" implicit the decades, surrounding the effects of caffeine connected our bodies and our behavior. Hagen relies heavy connected the enactment of Prof. Kevin Sabet. Sabet is simply a vocal hostile of marijuana usage. In my opinion, a amended position is gained by looking astatine the societal interaction of legalization of recreational marijuana successful the states wherever that has occurred. This benignant of appraisal was undertaken by the Cato Institute and updated successful 2021. Their enactment contains the caveat that their appraisal whitethorn not beryllium the last word. Nonetheless, the Cato Institute's investigation fundamentally concludes that different than accrued taxation gross for states that legalized recreational marijuana, nary notable benefits oregon adverse effects person occurred.
Richard Masur, Minneapolis
PHONICS
I americium penning successful respect to the Jan. 3 letter astir however phonics unsocial is not effectual successful teaching students to decode (i.e., "sound out") words successful reading. Current phonics acquisition can, and does, code this issue. It is existent that immoderate phonemes (parts) of the words specified arsenic "knot" and "phonetic" bash not travel basal phonics. However, phonemes successful each of these words bash travel basal phonics. It's past a substance of teaching students however to interruption up the connection into the phonemes that they tin decode, and the phonemes that request to beryllium learned immoderate different way. And yes, we adjacent thatch students what a "phoneme" is.
Sherry Kuhn, St. Paul
The writer is simply a speechmaking teacher.
English (US)