We need forward-thinking approach to cannabis

Dear Editor,

I read with great sadness, but not surprise, about the Saugerties Town Board opting out of the cannabis industry. I commend Supervisor Costello and the other Town Board member who voted in support of cannabis shops. Sadly, the naysayers are listening to the wrong voices. The ignorant negativity coming from the Saugerties police chief and others, who (to quote Solazzo in “The Godfather”) “pensi all’antica” (Your thinking is antiquated).

Everywhere, I see the destruction caused by legal alcohol, bars, and drunk drivers. Every day the police blotter has multiple disasters caused caused by the alcohol culture. I’ve yet to see cannabis cause those problems on any level. Domestic abuse cases are also mainly caused by alcohol abusers, too!

For eons, tens of thousands, if not millions of people, have benefited greatly from that God-given flowering herb, medically, emotionally and spiritually. There is a wealth of real knowledge out there that I hope former Sen. Jen Metzger and the rest of the New York State Cannabis Board will access, and I am offering myself as a liaison to some of those resources. Billions of dollars are being made by some of the genius entrepreneurs of the black market, and have been for decades. As Bob Dylan so aptly said, “To live outside the law, you must be honest.”

The cannabis subculture has helped folks thrive under difficult conditions, and the cannabis board needs that expertise. New York State needs to stop listening to fear and ignorance and move quickly to allow cannabis to reach the masses in every way possible. It is a healer, natural and safe. I myself am 16 years post-liver transplant, and my miraculous recovery is partly due to cannabis, edible and otherwise.

On a side note, every person I know who has been to legal dispenseries elsewhere spends a lot of money in the restaurants, gas stations and shops of Great Barrington, Vermont, and other civilized communities. Progressive communities like Ulster, New Paltz and Woodstock are poised to reap huge financial benefits as soon as the dispenseries are opened.

Please don’t let the “nattering nabobs of negativity” rule the day. Help people; don’t hurt people. — Leon “Butch” Dener New Paltz, N.Y.