Letters to the Editor
From our weekly issue dated September 23, 2009
(Editor’s Note: Views and commentary, including statements made as fact, are strictly those of the letter-writers.)
Typed, double-spaced letters are considered for publication. Hand-written letters that are double-spaced and legible also can be considered. “Thank you” submissions are not accepted as letters.
‘Unnecessary roughness’
From George Lee McElroy
Cave Junction
On Sept. 10 at 10 p.m., my son-in-law, Paul, was the victim of what I call a brutal attack by three Josephine County deputies. It began after a stop for allegedly going 55 mph in a 45 mph zone -- he was going 38 mph in a 45 mph zone. Deputy C--- ordered him to show his papers. Paul unbuckled his seatbelt and attempted to produce them, but they were out of reach. As he sat back up, Deputy C--- opened his door, grabbed him by one arm and jerked him out of the vehicle. Two other deputies had arrived, and threw him to the gravel, handcuffed him up and threw him into the side of his van. Paul was placed into a cruiser and taken to jail. My granddaughter was placed in another cruiser. Yes, his 11-year-old daughter witnessed this brutal attack and sat there crying while watching her father being taken away, not knowing what was in store for her. Paul was charged with resisting arrest, failure to carry, reckless driving and endangering. His bail was set at $7,500. On the way to jail, Paul said that he asked Deputy C--- why he was subjected to such violent treatment and was told by Deputy C--- , “I didn’t know who you were.” Paul plans to go to trial to demonstrate his belief that the Lord will watch over him, protect him, and test his faith. Paul is a good Christian man and truly believes that in preparation for the bad times ahead, God will empower evil people to impose hardships on us to test our faith.
Stop pot eradication
From (name withheld)
Selma
We should stop wasting federal, state and county money on marijuana eradication. The Oct. 4, 2006 Illinois Valley News reported that Sgt. Ken Selig of Josephine County Sheriff’s Office stated, “Marijuana remains the number-one illicit recreational drug of choice used by thousands of Americans.” According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, approximately 25 million Americans were using marijuana during 2006. Essentially there have been no changes in these statistics the past three years. Billions of dollars have been spent on a failed “Drug War,” and hundreds of thousands of lives damaged by marijuana convictions. To summarize the San Francisco Chronicle dated March 31, 2009, U.S. policies are based on the fantasy that we can somehow make this industry go away. Instead, we have granted a virtual monopoly on production and distribution to criminals, especially the brutal Mexican cartels, and our marijuana laws subsidize these murderous gangs, with 60 to 70 percent of Mexican cartel profits coming from marijuana. Current government surveys estimate 15 million to 30 million Americans use marijuana at least once per month. More than 775,000 arrests were made during 2007 just for possession, not sale or manufacture. The World Health Organization reported countries with more stringent laws, especially the United States, had higher incidence of use, with the United States being number one of 17countries surveyed. With more than 20 years law enforcement experience, I would urge our legislators to re-examine marijuana laws and consider legalization and taxation, much as our wine industry, adding to our tax coffers, rather than depleting them.
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