Wake up, Alaska, and smell what is coming out of Colorado. It stinks. Legalization and commercialization of marijuana in Colorado started less than two years ago, and there are so many problems and costs. There are increased marijuana-related emergency room visits, increased hash-oil explosions, increased marijuana-involved auto fatalities, and an increased number of workers testing positive for marijuana. Now people in Colorado are regretting what they did. A Suffolk University/USA Today poll shows that 50 percent of likely voters now oppose legalization and only 46 percent agree with it. Does Alaska really want to invite Big Marijuana to our state to make money, while costs to our families, health care, and employers would only grow? I am voting “no” and urging others to do the same. We don’t want to make the same costly and regrettable mistake that Colorado did.
Janet Kurz