Letters to the Editor
Community consensus on Lana'i unverifiable
In an Aug. 16 article by Timothy Hurley, "Lana'i dentist wary of plan to fluoridate," John Ornellas, a Lana'i Co. employee and member of the state Health Department's Sub Area Council for Lana'i, said there was "enough" support for fluoridation on Lana'i.
Concerned citizens of Lana'i would like to know what "enough" means. Is there a verifiable community consensus? How much support is required for fluoridation implementation? The facts of the meeting on Aug. 14 are that Mr. Ornellas claims 30 people favored fluoridation, yet 44 people signed an anti-fluoridation petition. Until that meeting, our community had no opportunity to examine this issue.
There are serious medical risks at stake here. Toxic sodium fluoride is not the silver bullet proponents would have us believe. The forced systemic medication of all of Lana'i is not the way to fix children's teeth. Why not take that $100,000 tobacco fund allotment and use it for programs to educate our community about better dental health?
Louis Dula
Other ways to administer treatment to children
Fluoridation, while helpful to growing children, has not been proven to provide any benefits for adults. While it is noble of the state to want to help the kids of Hawai'i get fluoride, why does it have to be at the expense of an ever-increasing older population?
Hawai'i has the world's best-tasting water. Residents are lucky enough to not have to buy gallons of water or expensive filters, as my daughter in California can attest. The filtered and bottled waters arriving in our stores cannot compare to what flows out of our faucets.
I agree that the teeth of Hawai'i's children are in a sad state, but there are other ways to administer fluoride to them. One would be to put fluoride in the milk or juice that comes with their school lunches. Another would be to distribute bottled water containing the daily requirement of fluoride. Or how about chewable fluoride pills?
Hawai'i's lawmakers have good intentions, but I urge them to think about this further.
Roy Gushiken
Proposal blatantly violates Constitution
The proposed redistricting plan for the state Legislature contains dozens of deliberate, willful violations of the state Constitution. Here are some violations for just one of the proposed districts, Senate District 8, under the Constitution:
• "No district shall extend beyond the boundaries of any basic island unit." The term "basic island unit" is defined as one of the four counties, making it illegal to have a canoe district containing parts of two counties. District 8 would contain parts of Kaua'i and Honolulu counties.
• "The representation of any basic island unit initially allocated less than a minimum of two senators and three representatives shall be augmented ... to attain such minimums." Thus, Kaua'i county must have two senators who reside in that county. But, if the person elected to District 8 lives in Kailua, then Kaua'i would be represented by only one county resident.
• "No district shall be so drawn as to unduly favor a person or political faction." Proposed Senate District 8 is an attempt to turn a Republican district into a Democratic one.
• "Insofar as practicable, districts shall be compact." A district including North Kaua'i and South O'ahu is not compact. Even if we ignored the illegality of multicounty canoe districts, this article would mandate combining part of Kaua'i with North O'ahu, not South O'ahu.
• "Where practicable, submergence of an area in a larger district wherein substantially different socioeconomic interests predominate shall be avoided." Kailua's well-to-do Republican suburban community, with its high concentration of Caucasians, differs substantially from north Kaua'i's poorer, Democratic and more rural community.
With such blatant violations of the state Constitution in a single district, the five Democratic members of the reapportionment commission who voted for this mess have decided to ignore our Constitution because following it would interfere with their partisan goals.
We need to prevent such abuses of power. We ought to require the members of the commission to take an oath of office in which they swear to abide by the Constitution, with provisions for the removal and replacement of any member who violates that oath.
Jim Henshaw
Kailua
Effects of drug laws necessitate reforms
Jeanette McDougal is confused if she thinks that the principal argument for a reform of marijuana laws is that the plant is relatively harmless (Island Voices, Aug. 21). Like any drug, marijuana can be harmful if abused. I doubt that anyone in the drug policy reform movement will deny that. It is not the effects of marijuana that necessitate regulation, but the effects of drug laws.
In the United States, children have an easier time buying marijuana than beer. While a liquor store will refuse to sell alcohol to a minor to avoid losing its license, a drug dealer will sell to anyone. More disturbing is the manner in which marijuana users come into contact with pushers of harder drugs.
The black-market status of marijuana puts its distribution in the hands of organized crime. In effect, drug laws finance organized crime, which, in turn, fuels violence and corruption. America's experience with ending alcohol prohibition confirms that adult regulation will not only eliminate drug prohibition-related violence but also make it significantly harder for children to purchase drugs.
Finally, there are the effects of drug laws on an individual. A heavy marijuana smoker may risk bronchitis, but the health effects of bronchitis are inconsequential compared with the long-term effects of prison stays and criminal records. The government does not routinely prosecute and destroy the lives of alcoholics.
I fail to see why marijuana smokers should have their lives destroyed at the taxpayer's expense for indulging in a drug that is arguably safer than alcohol or tobacco.
Robert Sharpe
The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation, Washington, D.C.
Drug not for everyone, but effective for many
As founder of the Honolulu Medical Marijuana Patients Co-Op, I have seen first-hand how valuable medical marijuana is. If Jeanette McDougal had ever visited the many sick and injured using medical marijuana with their doctors recommendation here in Honolulu, she would have seen first-hand how wrong she is.
Even I continue to be surprised by the illnesses and injuries marijuana is helpful in treating. Digestive disorders, including Crones Disease, migraine headaches, spinal cord injuries, wasting disease, asthma, glaucoma, nausea from chemotherapy and multiple sclerosis are just some examples.
As for marijuana's toxicity, I have yet to see or even hear of anybody killing themselves using too much marijuana.
As for McDougal's claim that "patients" generally are seeking the "high" produced by marijuana, it is true that marijuana does a good job as an antidepressant. More than 80 percent of our co-op members have been prescribed antidepressants by their doctors to deal with the depression that usually accompanies a major illness or injury.
Marijuana does not affect everyone the same way and does not work for everyone. Again, it depends on the individual. But there is no denying that marijuana works very effectively with a minimum of undesirable side effects for many people.
Thomas C. Mountain
Honolulu Medical Marijuana Patients Co-Op
Let responsible adults make own decisions
The scientific evidence doesn't support Jeanette McDougal's position in the Aug. 21 paper, that "medical marijuana is toxic and tar-laden." Many people know marijuana grown in Hawai'i is "in"toxicating and "resin"-laden.
People hang-glide, go out in high surf and participate in other risky, yet thrilling, activities. This is their life and this is a free country.
The Libertarian Party believes we should let each responsible adult make their own decisions about communing with the plant world. Peaceful and honest people should be left to their own dealings.
Roger Taylor
President, Libertarian Party of Hawai'i
General public getting fed up with controversy
How much more shame are our city officials going to bring upon us?
Look at some members of our City Council: Jon Yoshimura, Andy Mirikitani, Rene Mansho and John Henry Felix, all of whom are either in trouble or involved with some controversy or both.
Now we hear that Police Chief Lee Donohue's two right-hand men are being indicted by the grand jury on charges of misuse of taxpayer's money in a food scam.
How can Donohue not know anything about this, despite the fact that these two men are his assistants? How can he be so inept?
If Donohue cannot be on top of things at the Honolulu Police Department, then maybe he shouldn't be police chief. We need someone who can run a tight ship.
As a taxpayer, I'm sick and tired of hearing about city officials using our hard-earned money for their own crooked reasons. They are supposed to be serving and protecting us. Instead they stab us in the back, and we end up on the losing end.
City officials must think the general public is really stupid and don't know what's going on. Well, we do. They won't be laughing for long once the people finally get really fed up with the system. Enough is enough.
Leighton Ito
Waipahu
Eight-hour investigation, freeway closure justified
I am writing in regard to the Sunday "accident" on the H-1. Although the eight-hour investigation and the accompanying freeway closure seemed excessive and frustrating for many drivers, including myself, I think it's important to emphasize that this was no ordinary accident. Someone was killed. I applaud the investigators' quest for thoroughness in order to bring those culpable to justice and to provide the victims of this accident closure.
Eli Koppel
Lottery not gambling
With the recent jackpot winners on the Mainland, it makes me mad that Hawai'i doesn't have a lottery. A lottery is not gambling. I gladly would pay a dollar a week to have a chance to win a big jackpot. I'm definitely against gambling in Hawai'i: slot machines, bingo, casinos. I would like to see a referendum be put on the ballot in the next election to bring in the lottery.
Derek Stephens
Wai'anae
INS, Customs made return home easy
I don't suppose that organizations such as the INS and U.S. Customs get much fan mail; however, I would like this to be an exception.
My family and I returned to our home state of Hawai'i after an arduous overseas assignment and an absence of nearly three years. There was paperwork to be completed and I approached this task with dread.
What a joy and a delight to be met and greeted by efficient, helpful and good-humored officials who welcomed us home and went out of their way to make our paperwork easy. All the officials I and my family encountered went that extra bit to make our homecoming that much easier. Thank you, INS and U.S. Customs Service. The nation and this state should be proud of you.
Dr. A. Forbes
Kane'ohe
