I am commenting on the Dec. 8 editorial cartoon in the News Journal — a skeleton pointing out the first two letters in “Ohio” with the letters “OD.” Did I miss something here? A year ago Ohioans voted down a bill that would have made marijuana use legal. About six months later I read “Ohio legislators set up rules to manufacture medical marijuana.” This new law is “only” an entrance drug used for medical purposes.

I have heard that a medical form of marijuana has been available for many years, legally. It’s not potent enough? Or the state can’t realize tax money from it?

A good friend of mine used marijuana during and after the Vietnam War. Now at age 68 he acknowledges that “sometimes I can only remember things for a moment.” And I notice his pattern of thinking can be out of line with a non-user’s normal pattern. This drug changes the way the brain works and there is no way of reversing it.

What about medical marijuana users’ children involved around this product? What about babies born of marijuana-user mothers? Society will get to care for these children.

From pieces of stray information in the newspaper, I realized our elected House and Senate members in Columbus passed their own law to have medical marijuana legalized. No one asked me. It seems like an end run — they change one word and it’s law.

My law enforcement friends say it was voted into law in order to gain tax revenue. We taxpayers ultimately foot the bill for way too many overdoses, which bothers me greatly. Our legislators seem more concerned with the revenue in their pockets. Where’s their accountability to us? Does Ohio really need this kind of revenue? It looks as if our representatives represent themselves.

Ralph Widman

Lynchburg