Your Views for August 25

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Medical marijuana

Medical marijuana

Today I met a woman who told me a fantastic story of how her lung cancer disappeared after she began ingesting a cannabis-based capsule regularly with no side effects. It is well known that “cannabinoids” have been shown to inhibit cell growth in cancerous tumors, but to hear real people having real results is amazing.

How many more testimonials must we hear? How much more research do we need? How many more votes from our American citizens do we need before we can legally and easily use cannabinoids for medicine?

Yes, we have medical marijuana. That’s great! Yet, there exists not one medical marijuana dispensary in the whole state of Hawaii. If we are serious about “medical” marijuana, we need the medical part. We need to analyze and test to ensure the safety of the medicine. Other places utilize DNA amplification to screen for and ensure the highest levels of safety in pathogenic contamination testing.

My only wish is to be able to obtain cannabidiol (CBD) a non-psychoactive cannabinoid in tincture form that has been scientifically and chemically tested and made available in measured and consistent strength to responsibly treat my young son, who suffers epileptic seizures with little relief from toxic pharmaceuticals laden with harmful side effects.

Other states and countries have this level of therapeutic product, and so should this state and this country.

Cynthia Taylor

Hilo

Why now?

After reading about the road work to start Monday, Aug. 26, on Highway 130 between Shower Drive and the Keaau transfer station (Tribune-Herald, Aug. 23) I can’t help but wonder, “Why now?”

Why not during the summer? Why not in the early morning hours like they do on the mainland? This is probably the worst time of year to start road work on one of the most congested roads on the island. I just don’t get it!

I hope it goes well without a hitch.

J. Ingman

Hawaiian Paradise Park

Do something useful

While driving downtown near the parks and fire station on Kinoole Street, I noticed a truck with a large sign with the words: “Protest and hang Obama.”

I’m all for freedom of speech and thought, but my question to myself was: What wrong did Obama do this individual to make him go so far as to say hang Obama?

It’s true that this Congress is the worst, as far as doing anything, in more than 200 years.

Obama cannot be at fault, because the Republicans vowed not to vote for anything that the president was advocating, even if it meant hurting the people of this country.

All I can say to this protester is: When election day comes around, vote for someone (you think) will do right by you.

If you want faster action for your plight, get a champion in the Congress (if you can afford one, as they only serve big pockets) to right the wrongs brought on by President Obama.

Carmine Spada

Pahoa

Gambling dangerous

I am writing to share my concerns about the inclusion of Resolution 158-13 in the Hawaii State Association of Counties legislative package. It proposes legalizing high stakes bingo for a source of revenue. I believe that this resolution is bad for Hawaii, nor should it be fast-tracked, bypassing community discussion.

Hawaii’s citizens have strongly expressed a desire to keep gambling out of Hawaii at the Legislature. The County Council should not attempt to undermine this desire through the false hope of new revenue. Studies clearly show the negative effects of gambling after it is introduced into a community, often costing the state money.

Additional reasons I oppose Resolution 158-13: I believe that the County Council has not fully identified and cut waste. Revenue from high stakes bingo is a tax that will target the most vulnerable in Hawaii.

High stakes bingo will hurt our economy by diverting money away from struggling businesses and will pave the way to legalize gambling in Hawaii.

A perfect example of why Hawaii should not legalize high stakes bingo is the 1980 Jefferson County constitutional amendment. It allowed charity bingo, which opened Pandora’s box for allowing legalized gambling within the state of Alabama. Hawaii should learn from Alabama’s mistake. The lesser of an evil is still an evil.

Lee McIntosh

Naalehu