Letter: Breathe easier: reject pot

There is one critical issue that is being entirely overlooked in the discussion over the legalization of marijuana, the secondhand smoke issue.

When an individual chooses to partake of alcohol, they can do it and the intoxication is limited to those who choose to partake of it.

When an individual chooses to partake of marijuana, the intoxication is forced upon anyone nearby who breathes who it.

How many hundred of times in your life have you breathed secondhand tobacco smoke? Do you think that pot smokers will be any more considerate than tobacco smokers? Don’t kid yourself. Many pot smokers think they will be doing you a favor by making you breathe it. Some will be considerate and try to avoid causing others to breathe it. Others will delight in forcing people to breathe it.

Imagine walking down a city street with your 8-year-old child in hand and an infant in your arms. Two groups are walking ahead of you on the sidewalk. Both groups are smoking pot. You and your children do not have the option to stop breathing. So you and your kids are forced to breathe pot against your will. This has proven to have an intoxicating effect even from secondhand pot smoke. Being forced to be intoxicated is never a sensible thing for society to allow.

Vote against the legalization of pot. Both you and your family will thus breathe easier.

Mark Brock
Grand Junction, Colo.