Love Letters, hate mail

Cannabis Recast

Dear UTW:

I am speaking on behalf of concerned citizens who wish to create a free market for industrial hemp. Hemp gets a bad reputation due to its ties with marijuana. The truth is the THC levels in hemp are .05 percent giving it no drug value. However 99 percent of marijuana that is 'eradicated' is really just ditchweed. In addition, the government warning the so-called dangers of industrial hemp creates a bad influence on children, because when they realize the government was lying to them, they will ignore any warnings about more dangerous drugs like cocaine and heroin.

Hemp has many viable markets for its oils, protein, long fibers and inner hurds. Hemp production and sales are increasing globally. The government should not make a decision for hemp to remain illegal under the guise that it is not profitable-this is a perversion of the free market system!

George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson experimented with hemp growth. Does our current government think they are more knowledgeable then our founding fathers? If they were serious about the economy getting back on track, they should use every feasible resource.

--Alex Szeklinski

What Is Criminal?

(Re: "Prosecuting Mothers," June 21-27, vol. 21, no. 52)

Dear UTW:

Working in the newborn nursery for three years as a University of Tulsa Student Intern I saw many newborns that went through withdrawals from alcohol and cocaine addiction that was contracted as a fetus through the mother's blood.

Watching withdrawal of these newborns made it very clear to me that these mothers, most of which had their infants taken from them, did not understand the idea of protecting their child -- born or unborn.

Tracking of these children should be easy for Tim Harris to identify simply by identifying the newborns that were given certain withdrawal drugs and were on "restricted parental access" since the mothers continue to take drugs while breastfeeding making withdrawal of the newborn impossible.

The Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth are not looking for the data on these children in the right place. Look for the withdrawls drug perigoric ... etc. ... The mothers of these newborns were routinely drug tested.

Laws should be instituted to define the real protection of our Oklahoma children, born or unborn. Why has it taken so long to identify the need for laws of this nature when we were seeing approximately one newborn a week going through withdrawal in the late nineties at Hillcrest Medical Center.

These mothers are abusing their children and the process of restricting access from the hospital to home is the appropriate direction but should be initiated at the prenatal point to fully protect the fetus.

--Annette Abbott

What Priorities?

(Re: "Prosecuting Mothers," June 21-27, vol. 21, no. 52)

Dear UTW:

Good God, here's the perfect case justifying the Oklahoma Mental Health Code -- a clear case of threat to another person by a repeat offender. But instead the Tulsa PD, DA Harris, the Mental Health Court, and the Oklahoma Dept of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services fill the beds at the Tulsa Center for Behavioral Health with people guilty only of annoying another person while having a mental illness or drug problem.

--Don Baker

Spendulicious

(Re: "Recovery? What Recovery?" June 14-20, vol. 21, no. 51)

Dear UTW:

Wow! Rall indicates he actually understands the problem with the economy: no net increase in jobs, falling real wages, and a true number for the unemployed/underemployed that hovers near 25 percent. Add to that the disconnect of the Presidential administration which thinks the "private sector is doing just fine" and that things would be better if we could just hire more government workers. At least Rall acknowledges things are a mess. It's his solution I have a problem with. Apparently Rall would advocate for more spendulus. Bring back the WPA. Have government step in and create a fictionalized job market. Wasn't that the goal of the so-called stimulus? And it didn't do any good. As usual with leftists, they assume solutions to problems begin and end with government.

We need a real recovery. That's only going to come with vast decreases in taxes and regulation for the private sector -- especially small business -- to drive the jobs engine. And even that's not going to happen at any measurable rate until we've repealed the Affordable Care Act, replaced the Congressmen who are bereft of economic literacy, and deposed the dolt living in the Oval Office.

--Todd Kriegh