Letter: Yes to Potts; no to pot
Hurray for Commissioner Jerri Potts! Finally someone is being rational, doing the right thing and not trying to save face for the court’s error. So happy to see a long-term approach to this unfortunate situation. I hope the Shved and foster families can create healthy open relationships with each other so the kids can thrive.
On a totally separate note, we have new data about driving fatalities. They are going up. Anyone want to hazard some guesses why? Distracted driving? Faster cars? Increased speed limits? How about Washington’s doubled number of fatal crashes involving drivers using pot (up from 8 percent in 2013 to 17 percent in 2014) and lack of blood cannabis content screening (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety)? Do you drive on our two-lane highways to Walla Walla, Ephrata or Moses Lake? Take a look at the map: Eastern Washington overwhelmingly voted no to legalizing recreational marijuana, including Benton and Franklin counties. Perhaps the voters understand and respect federal laws and have the common sense to see that our communities will not be healthier and safer with legalized pot. Time to re-vote based on our lab results.
Shelly Hansen, W. Richland
This story was originally published September 23, 2016 at 4:33 AM with the headline "Letter: Yes to Potts; no to pot."