Alicia DeLaRosa used that exact term three times in her statement against cannabis, and it was in the context of responding to that statement that I used that term (notice the quotation marks). Only in the subject line and in the final quotation from Ms. DeLaRosa did I use that term; in all other instances I used the correct term: cannabis.

Just wanted to clarify my use of the term that I, too, detest.

I haven't used the word "pot" in speaking or writing in about 15 years. It's STUPID. Would you argue to legalize heroin by calling it smack? I never say or write anything but cannabis or "herb" if I must use slang.

De La Rosa, Alicia Spring E-mail Address: del1688@student.suu.edu Local Phone #: (435)586-5553

I know I'm sending an email....

The flagrant fault of falsely founded, legislated foolishness foments its own dissent. Allan Erickson
Eugene, Ore. 

Leave pot out of this ridiculousness.

Pot is not rididculous. Just the prohibition of marijuana is ridiculous.

How many times does all of this stuff have to be said?

Leave pot and pot smokers alone.

"I wouldn't belong to any organization that would want me as a member."-Groucho Marx

Did I read that correctly? Did the Salt Lake Tribune really quote as an expert a freshman communications major? Does this newspaper have any idea what the typical freshman communications major knows about cannabis and its uses, let alone having a finger on the pulse of public opinion?

I'll give the Tribune a clue: not much.

Here's a rundown of why cannabis is good for the Earth and why we therefore should include its promotion in any Earth Day celebration:

In addition to having the ability to relieve the suffering of thousands of medical patients for whom nothing else works as well (or even at all), and aside from the fact that it is a relatively healthy recreational alternative to alcohol (under whose influence many of the world's destructive policies have been made), it also can serve as an excellent nutritional source, an excellent alternative to cutting down trees (40% of which are now gone from the planet) for paper and building materials, and an excellent source of fuel (biodiesel) that could eliminate 100% of the world's reliance on petroleum. It can be used to make plastics, which will further diminish the world's need for petroleum, and because it requires neither herbicides nor pesticides, its use as a source of food would be far more Earth-friendly than the major crops grown today for that purpose (which use both herbicides and pesticides). In short, every major problem we now have on Earth--be it hunger, destruction of rainforests, violent outbursts of rage, or environmental pollution--could be either eliminated or drastically reduced if we would legalize the cultivation, sale, and use of this one plant.

Which is why big business has been fighting it since the 1920s. Which is why Earth Day activists' number one target is big businesses that destroy the Earth.

That is "how pot fits into Earth Day."

Dan B