Letters
It takes a fair degree of stupidity for anyone to enter into criminal undertakings. This is quite apart from the basic notions of right and wrong, but it does not necessarily follow that their inclination towards stupidity renders them foolish in any way.
Recently there has been a strong upsurge in the cries to legalise marijuana and in the touting of the virtues of this plant as a panacea for all ills, whether real or imagined.
What I find instructive is that very few of the miscreants who have been taken before the law courts in recent times for possession or cultivation of this substance have wasted the magistrates’ time.
In most instances they have pleaded guilty with the explanation that their possession or cultivation of the plant was not for recreational purposes but rather for its medicinal value. They have cited ailments such as diabetes, glaucoma, erectile dysfunction, sinusitis, cancer, emphysema and a host of others for which they find that the “herb” provides relief. Very seldom do they now justify its use on religious grounds, for they have found an avenue which is more readily acceptable to a larger cross section of the community.
As I said, they may be stupid but not foolish.
Rollins Howard
