Don't let marijuana ruin your life; immigrants could help fill many open jobs: Your letters

Marijuana ruined my life, don't let it happen to you

After really thinking it over, I'm against recreational marijuana in South Dakota, mostly for one reason: smoking marijuana ruined my life. I started in 1975 and never recovered all I lost from doing so. I've been playing catch-up ever since high school, but normalcy,

credibility and respectability will always elude me.

The question of whether marijuana is a gateway drug for kids is controversial and inconclusive. All I've to add is it led to my drinking, which lead to my alcoholism,

which was the coup de grace. Goodbye, boy next door with a silver spoon; hello, drunk driver, petty criminal, lazy and aimless adult.

From smoking pot, you ask? Well, do you remember the game Life and all the different paths one could take around the board experiencing life's challenges along the way? Smoking weed means throwing stoned dice and usually getting absolutely nowhere good. Anyone who says marijuana doesn't lead to lethargy and apathy is delusional. If nothing else, marijuana too often is a gateway to bad decisions. Our prisons are full of people who started out smoking it.

"Whoa!" you may be thinking, is Initiated Measure 27 not for adults only, and who are you, you bitter Mr. Pot Party Pooper, to imply today's kids are as dumb as you were and probably still are? Two fair questions I will indirectly answer this way: the kids of today are still influenced by what we adults do. Is legalizing another mood-altering drug really the best message to be sending them? Can't we do better by South Dakota's kids than that?

How much longer can we emphasize individual rights over what's right for all before a tuned-out, self -absorbed stoner society begins to fall apart?

Decriminalize simple possession of marijuana. Don't legitimize it. Vote no on IM 27.

Douglass Carter, Aberdeen

Immigrants could help fill open jobs

Have you noticed all the help wanted signs recently? What about the notices in restaurants apologizing for poor service because of labor shortages? You may have even experienced how hard it is to get construction and home repair services nowadays.

Apparently, many Americans don't want to work difficult jobs that don't pay well or jobs that fail to provide decent benefits. But there is a group of hard-working people that would love to have these jobs. They are called immigrants. While they come from all over the world, many in this group are just across our southern border. This group of people has been labeled as undesirable, criminal, diseased, job-stealing and as terrorists by the xenophobic, white nationalists who are now part of the Republican Party.

Immigrants are the people who built this country and made it what it is today. With growing inflation and many job openings, why not let immigrants continue to make this country great?

Allen Walter, Groton

Made a point without making an enemy

I recently asked an acquaintance of 30 years a tough question. Since he's always quick with a Trump disparagement, I challenged him to name a Trump-era policy or program with which he disagreed. A blank stare greeted me as the gears in his head seized up. Mean tweets, off-the-cuff remarks and verbally sparring with combative reporters aren't examples of policy. This would take a while.

Conversely, my disagreements with Biden policies are numerous, beginning with his stated desire for illegal migrant asylum seekers to "surge the border." This invited surge has brought roughly a quarter-million illegal immigrants, either apprehended or "got aways," across the border monthly. Word has spread about catch-and-release and with notice to appear dates as far as eight years away, numbers will only increase. Crime, fentanyl and truckloads of death solely at the graceful feet of Joe Biden.

To those who recite the liberal talking point, "studies show illegal immigrants commit less crime than citizens," I ask what studies? Commissioned by whom? Provided there's some legitimate study somewhere, making that argument opens the door to the next study that shows illegal immigrants commit more crime. Then what? Do they agree to seal the border and commence mass deportations? Of course not.

If they argue illegal immigrants commit less crime and should stay based on that, then logically those groups that commit the most crimes should leave. Do they really want to make that argument? Who'll be around to vote Democrat?

Seconds seemed like minutes, but my counterpart, as if passing a stone, finally blurted out, "Kids in cages!" Apparently he'd fallen for the media-contrived scandal when Obama-Biden era photos of detained children were re-released during Trump's tenure. I didn't argue. I'd made my point without making an enemy.

Dan Oliver, Aberdeen

Legalizing marijuana doesn't mean there are no consequences

The issue of legalizing recreational marijuana will be on the ballot this fall. One could be lulled into thinking that "legal to purchase" comes with freedom from consequences of using. Not the case. The initiative states that employer policy prevails. Show up high to work and you will get fired. Business insurance will not cover employees with a failed drug test on record.

The initiative also states federal law has priority. If you have a commercial driver's license, it is regulated by federal law. Fail a drug test and you lose your license and livelihood if driving is your profession. If the Transportation Security Administration finds a joint in your luggage, you will be charged with a federal crime, as all airports are under federal jurisdiction. Your travel plans will change. Recently, a professional athlete was sentenced to 10 years in Russian prison for just that.

If you are an airman stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base and the drug dogs come through the barracks, the consequence is a dishonorable discharge. That stays with you for the rest of your life. The same goes for the National Guard or reservists. The Uniform Code of Military Justice specifies a court martial for marijuana use. For sharing any amount with another service member the penalty can go up to 15 years in prison. So, point No. 1 is that just because it's legal to purchase does not mean you are home free. All the consequences still apply.

Point No. 2 is that the main reason that marijuana has always been illegal is that it is a gateway drug to cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl. These drugs ruin lives, families and communities. Marijuana can be laced with other drugs that are more addictive and, therefore, more profitable for drug dealers and cartels.

Oscar Wenholm, Clark

Consider Chad Fischbach for Brown County Commission

I want to encourage all Brown County voters to take a good look at Chad Fischbach as a choice for one of the open seats on the Brown County Commission.

I’ve known Chad and his family since he was a young boy attending Warner School. His family has been active in Brown County government for many years. He’s a farmer, husband of an educator and father of three boys. As a former county commissioner myself, I see value in what Chad can bring to the commission in ethics; practical, conservative ideas; infrastructure needs that help everyone, not just a selected area of the county; and family values that affect everybody from the youth to the elderly.

Vote Chad Fischbach for one of the open seats on the Brown County Commission.

Nancy Hansen, Aberdeen

Not ashamed of voting for Trump

I've been watching clips of Joe Biden’s recent speech delivered from Independence Hall in Philadelphia. You might not have seen it because several major news networks – including CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox – opted to not air it given the inflammatory content.

To summarize: Biden’s primary message was to vehemently denounce any Republicans who voted for President Trump or support his Make America Great Again agenda, even though that means roughly half of America. I can’t help wondering exactly why Biden finds fault with any red-blooded citizen wanting to Make America Great Again. Doesn’t seem like it should even be a partisan issue.

I’m not ashamed to say I voted twice for Donald Trump. His values more closely mirror my own than Hillary Clinton’s or Joe Biden’s do. I love God, my family and the United States. I believe in the constitution’s tenets: freedom to practice my religion and speak freely without fear of retaliation; unbiased, well-regulated military and police forces; a secure border; justice for everyone; the right to bear arms. I’m pro-life. I don’t want to have to choose between buying groceries, gasoline or going to the hardware store because inflation is so high. The government has no business mandating my personal health decisions. America should be self-reliant. Our children shouldn’t be subjected to inappropriate sexual or racist doctrines while attending school.

Does any of this sound like "an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic?" This coming from someone who claims to be "fighting for democracy with every fiber of his being" and ran on the platform of "restoring the soul of the nation." Don’t believe everything you hear or – in Biden’s case – anything you hear.”

Katherine Larson, Florence

Many helped make Delta Kappa Gamma book sale a success

Delta Kappa Gamma would like to extend thanks to the Aberdeen community for the support and generosity that once again made our annual book sale a huge success.

Thank you to our local radio stations and others who gave us recognition and publicity prior to the sale. Our appreciation especially goes to the Aberdeen Parks & Recreation for use of the Wylie Park Pavilion. It has been a perfect venue for our sale, with space for shoppers, workers and our many thousands of books. We also wish to recognize Good Shepherd Lutheran Church for offering space for us to collect, sort and price books all summer. Thank you to Ken’s, Kessler’s, Bethlehem Lutheran and Good Shepherd for being collection sites, and to all the DKG members who routinely picked up those books. Thanks to Ed Korbel, Paul Gronbeck, the Delta Kappa Gamma husbands, and others who helped to haul books.

The Northern State men’s basketball team helped move heavy boxes of books to the pavilion, and the Presentation College women’s athletes worked with us closing down the sale and distributing leftover books. Thank you all for your strong muscles and willingness to help. Thanks especially go to DKG members who put in long hours preparing the books and working the sale. The real heroes of this huge project, however, are the generous people in our community who donated the amazing books we received. We can’t thank you enough for your support of scholarships in education, which is where all sale proceeds will go. We will start collecting books next June for our 2023 sale, which will once again be after Labor Day.

Marie Schumacher, Dee Zahn, and Susan Jerde Delta Kappa, Aberdeen, Gamma book sale chairpeople

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Marijuana legalization, immigration, Trump are subjects of letters