After checking some last minute information about marketing marijuana in California, and the serious social, economic, and legal problems plaguing Colorado, (which has legalized pot) I firmly believe the Council should vote "No" on this proposition. Otherwise we would set a terrible example for our young people and be rightfully seen as profound hypocrites. Fillmore would become the state's largest purveyor of marijuana.

I have always hated illegal drugs, including marijuana. I am completely biased on the issue, though I have never in my life taken an illegal drug, including marijuana. (I wish I could say the same for alcoholic beverages). Drugs have been the bane of our society, particularly since the 1960s. I've witnessed too many deaths and otherwise ruined lives due to drugs. I also believe that marijuana is indeed the gateway to hard drug abuse.

Marijuana is particularly insidious because it has so often been portrayed as something innocent, just something some people do to have fun playing with their brains, particularly young people. But science tells us marijuana smoke endangers our brains far more than tobacco. The science is clear and conclusive on this matter.

The dilemma here is that the city stands to make a lot of money taxing such an enterprise if it's allowed to develop in our Business Park. On the other hand such permission wounds Fillmore's reputation, sets a terrible example for our youth, and would attract crime and criminals like flies on a watermelon. Marijuana survives in a nest of crime and always has.

Although California has approved medical marijuana, getting a "recommendation" has always been easy for just about everyone, and growing and selling it is still a federal crime.

Growing and harvesting marijuana for strictly medical purposes is a legitimate practice, but should be as strictly controlled as hard drugs. I know of many cancer patients (my brother for one, who died of pancreatic cancer) who could only control the pain and nausea with marijuana. And control has always been the problem with marijuana. After all, it's just a weed.

Weed or no, today's marijuana is many times more powerful than that of the 1960s, and is often used as an ingredient in cookies and candy, which can entice children.

So, for these reasons I would strongly advise our Fillmore City Council to vote "No" on permitting the medical marijuana co-op to take a place in our Business Park. I hear that most if not all Ventura County cities feel the same.