As I read the recent Anti-marijuana petitioners switch focus to retail article in the Press, I was offended by the presumptuousness of Theresa Hoggins’s statement: “Nobody in Harvard should have a problem with Harvard not having a retail dispensary when there is one so close in Ayer.”
I have a problem with it for two reasons:
First, the unrelenting hypocrisy and inconsistency surrounding cannabis. As I mentioned in a recent letter to the editor, even casual research shows much more risk to our children from alcohol and tobacco than cannabis. If we are serious about protecting children and think that the retail presence of an “adult” substance in town adversely affects our children, then we should be consistent and ban sales of all substances with the same or greater harm (including guns).
Think about the beer and wine that you see immediately on entering the General Store. From personal experience, I know that this town’s youth uses alcohol before age 21, sometimes dangerously. Why does alcohol have the aura of being “acceptable” yet has a greater danger potential for our youth? Similar questions apply for tobacco. Why doesn’t this bother the “voices against recreational marijuana in Harvard,” and why doesn’t their petition seek to protect our youth from all hazardous “age 21” substances?
Perhaps the answer is that Harvard used to be a dry town, and the voters have already spoken on those issues. Just as they already have for cannabis, several times.
Second, the petition will only be “for show” because a recreational cannabis retailer is opening soon in Ayer. Think about the traffic that will now be coming through Harvard, likely from three compass directions, and think about the convenience of the Ayer location, perfect for picking up some pot, getting a cheeseburger at the rotary while smoking a quick joint, then venturing stoned back through Harvard. Might we be safer with our own retail shop closer to the major highways?
Personally, I won’t vote for the citizen petition, as I consider its basis to be not well thought out and inconsistent.
Ted Stefanik
Old Littleton Road
