By Larry Fullington
Special to the Herald

I want to tell you a story.
Recently, Kate and I were waiting for the BART train to take us to San Francisco. While waiting, a young woman joined us on the platform. As we talked, she told us she was an American Indian from Arizona. She had been sent here by her tribe to attend a drug rehabilitation center. She was a recovering heroin addict and had just “graduated” from the center. She was going home to Arizona to restart her life. Her child had been taken from her because of her addiction, and the court had now agreed to return the youngster to her. Also, her mother had kicked her out because she was caught stealing money from her to feed her habit. She still needed to work on reconciling with her mother.
I asked her how it all started. She was very frank. She started with marijuana until she needed a stronger high. She then moved on to cocaine until she needed a stronger high. This followed with a progression to meth, then finally to heroin when everything fell apart. This was when she lost custody of her child and suffered her estrangement from her mother. She now has high hopes of starting again with a clean life and caring for her child and family.
We don’t know how she is doing now. We do know it is going to be very difficult for her, including the possibility of the child being a crack baby.
Recently, I read a report of studies done by the major universities of Duke, Harvard and Northwestern concerning marijuana. In every case, they found that with regular use of marijuana in young, developing brains, there was a permanent reduction in IQ. This is not just scary, it is tragic on the possible loss of some potential for our youth. If anyone thinks grass is not an entry level product to more dangerous drugs, they are simply choosing to ignore the obvious. I am sure this information must weigh heavily on the City Councilmembers and their decisions on whether to allow a marijuana processing plant and retail outlet in our town.
Councilmember Mark Hughes said something quite interesting at a recent Council meeting. He said if we allow marijuana to be processed and sold openly in our town, it could change the image of our city forever. I think he could be right. My personal view is that just because marijuana is legal in our state, it does not mean we have to encourage or endorse it. To help balance the budget, I would rather see us give up some of our amenities rather than welcome in this dangerous product. (By the way, marijuana as it is processed today is far stronger than it was some years ago). It seems to me continuing, extensive education for our youth and their families is the best solution to the drug problem and potential problems.
The City Council welcomes your comments, and if not already done, they need to hear your feelings about this matter. Do you care enough to be willing to get involved? Are you willing to call or write to your councilmembers or speak at Council meetings? If not, we stand to reap the consequences, and I fear those consequences could be very sad.

Larry Fullington is a Benicia resident.

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