Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

Ms. Stuart's latest column is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to promote her approval and apparently continuing use of marijuana as a medical necessity, although she admits using it as her "recreational drug" back in the 70s.

One can only imagine being a student in college being taught by someone high on the illegal stuff, and possibly having her in not one but two different classes!

She suggests that marijuana was the lesser of two evils "it was too easy to accidentally drink too much and very difficult to overdose on pot."

She fails to say that while one is legal here in the U.S.A., the other was and still is illegal, except in places like San Francisco, a beautiful city overrun by stoned
miscreants. Granted you can't proficiently drive a car drunk, but I doubt it's any better stoned out of your mind either.

Why is it that while some of us can get by without the use of drugs (I'm 66), others seem to need to get high just to get through the day?

The only difference between Costa Rica and the U.S. when it comes to growing food is that we are able to feed much of the world while you can hardly feed yourselves. As far as organic foods, there is plenty available here if you are willing to pay twice the price, with no proven benefits over frozen or canned produce. If Ms. Stuart feels that there are vitamins and minerals in the marijuana leaves, maybe she should eat them instead of smoking them!

She editorializes about the "growing debate about whether or not legalize marijuana, at least for medical use," claims of death, crimes, damage to health, as the result of marijuana use has subsided...". I couldn't disagree more. In fact it's just the reverse. Marijuana will never be legal here nationally, only allowed in states like California, where it's been used for decades — hardly a "growing debate." Concerning the medical uses of marijuana, the debate has grown more and more intense as people are now allowed to go into "drug" stores and get marijuana with a "doctor's Rx" for conditions as mundane as a headache.

Some of these same people are then observed lining up on sidewalks alongside parks selling their drugs to any man or woman with cash in their pockets! Does that sound like marijuana claims of crime etc. have subsided?

Ms. Stuart is correct comparing drug use to gambling and prostitution in that all are for the most part illegal here in the USA, with the exception of such states as Nevada, Indian reservations, and cruise ships outside the three-mile limit. Marijuana for medical use is permitted only in states like California with a doctor's Rx.

Just because they have been "universally present in almost all cultures in the world through time and space" doesn't make them any more acceptable. Cancer, heart disease, arthritis and a myriad of other diseases have plagued the world as well, but the human race is still trying to eradicate them as well.

Like most sane Americans, I'll take a good juicy American hamburger over marijuana any day! And it smells alot better too.
 

Tourism institute needs
to redefine its roles

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

This is in response to the article by Ms. Tessa Borner of Posada Mimosa in Grecia.

I take issue with the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo being accused of promoting a “false image” and positioning Costa Rica as a “paradise.” What else should they be promoting? Costa Rica’s crime statistics? Costa Rica’s increasing role as a transit and storage country for drugs? You can’t be serious, really! Do you see the United States national or state tourist authorities advertising crime-infested inner cities? I don’t see Indonesia touting Bali as having the occasional terrorist attack. Are you suggesting the ICT should be promoting Costa Rica with a warning label attached to it like a cigarette pack?

And, no, is not the first time that any of the media has ever clearly questioned the tourist arrivals in this country. The Costa Rican national press do the same. I do agree that the statistical data available are laughable and that relying on figures from Migración doesn’t work. Also, why shouldn’t the ICT focus on promoting Manuel Antonio, Monteverde, Guanacaste, and Arenal? These are major tourist magnets! Furthermore, I don’t see the ICT promoting large hotels over small ones. The Marriotts of this world don’t need that service since they’re perfectly capable of attracting guests themselves.

Whereas a decade ago people typically booked their vacations through travel agents, today they mainly book themselves using the Internet. This is a major opportunity for smaller businesses like bed-and-breakfast hotels, restaurants, and tour operators to stand out. As an expat in Costa Rica, I observe that many fellow foreigners move here and open small hotels and restaurants but they can’t cook, can’t plan, can’t market, can’t host, and can’t manage people. This hardly constitutes a contribution to quality tourism in Costa Rica.

The way I see it that the ICT, like any other national tourist authority, needs to redefine its role. On the normative level, it needs to have an increased focus on certifying small businesses and providing them with training and operating licenses. On the communications side, it needs to make more use of the new technologies and use micromarketing rather than the broad-based general approach it has taken so far.

My conclusion is that it is too easy to set up shop here without any prior qualification. For some, that is a terrific opportunity, and I have seen many expats excel. Sometimes, however, it just doesn’t work and it is up to the market to weed out the good from the bad and the ugly. Blaming it all on the ICT, however, is not the answer.

Legalize recreational drugs
and tax them for health care

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

The new U.S. president, Obama, who campaigned  on "change," seeks to forge consensuses in Congress on  health care initiatives that have failed over the past three "prosperous" decades.

Now when there's no $$ left in the till to pay for it, and stress — the leading cause of illness — more prevalent than ever during these down times, it would seem the time to break with old failed approaches that are no longer sustainable, is at hand.

With the U.S. prison system draining the coffers to the point of meltdown from costs related to warehousing non-violent drug offenders, corruption at every level of society due to the failed war on drugs all through the hemisphere, zapping economic vitality, and eroding confidence in governments,. doesn't it seem obvious that it is time for change here?

By regulating and taxing recreational drugs the same as alcohol, and tobacco, there'd be more than enough revenue available to pay for health care in the U.S.

Here in Costa Rica and throughout the rest of the "delivery route" there'd be a real chance to break from the cycle of corruption that the "war on drugs" has helped foster.

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services