Pubdate: Tue, 23 Mar 2010
Source: Glenwood Springs Post Independent (CO)
Copyright: 2010 Glenwood Springs Post Independent
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/ys97xJAX
Website: http://www.postindependent.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/821
Author: Daniel C. Wennogle

COLUMN TRIVIALIZED MEDICAL POT ISSUES

I write to express my disappointment with Heidi Rice's March 19 
opinion column titled "Everybody Must Get Stoned," in which she 
attributes statements about marijuana use to an unnamed local 
attorney and makes light of the serious concerns voiced by local 
employers about employee drug use.

As a local attorney who has conducted three informational seminars in 
Glenwood and Rifle addressing the topic of medical marijuana and the 
workplace, I want to make it clear that I am not the attorney to whom 
Ms. Rice is referring. In fact, I do not recall hearing anyone say 
the things she quoted in her article, but perhaps she attended a 
different seminar.

Either way, her column glossed over the real issues and promoted 
"getting high." In my opinion, this trivialized the concerns of 
employers and overlooked the difficulties facing persons with 
legitimate medical problems who choose to utilize marijuana in their 
course of treatment.

I believe the column also caused confusion because this newspaper 
covered my seminar last month and people around town knew that I had 
been discussing these topics. Some of those people read Ms. Rice's 
article and reasonably but incorrectly assumed that Ms. Rice was 
writing about me.

I believe that even when writing a "humorous" opinion article a 
journalist ought to be aware of the potential for confusion that 
could arise by attributing quotes to "a local attorney," but failing 
to explain that the attorney she is quoting is someone other than the 
person whose seminar her own paper recently covered.

My disappointment is offset by the solid journalistic work of John 
Gardner, who covered my seminar for the Post Independent last month. 
I thank Mr. Gardner and the Post Independent for covering this 
important issue, and I hope this letter will help clear up any 
confusion caused by Ms. Rice's column.

Daniel C. Wennogle

Glenwood Springs
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom