LETTERS: Proposed pot policies stifle greenhouses
March 18, 2014 - 11:01 pm
To the editor:
Responsible medical marijuana legislation allowing dispensaries was passed by the Nevada Legislature to create a healthier and stronger Nevada. However, current proposed regulations before the state’s Board of Health would require that the marijuana growing inside not be observed from outside the building, almost eliminating the usefulness of greenhouses.
The intent behind this provision is likely to create literal blinders for the community. That may be appropriate in some circumstances, but requiring that even the ceilings be opaque is neither an efficient nor sustainable way to run this industry.
As an agricultural company looking to enter the medical marijuana market, Terra Tech’s goal is to cultivate our products in a responsible and sustainable way, but regulations need to grant us the flexibility to do that. This includes, most importantly, being able to use as much natural light as possible. Opaque ceilings would require a greater need for energy-consuming artificial lighting, which puts greater pressure on the environment due to the electrical power these lights would require. Environmental sustainability must be accounted for during the crafting of these regulations.
These additional regulations would increase cultivation centers’ expenses, thereby increasing the price for patients who need this medication, which is not covered by insurance. Before adopting the draft regulations, we urge the Board of Health to consider a technical amendment clarifying that greenhouses may have clear glass ceilings.
DEREK PETERSON
LAS VEGAS
The writer is chief executive officer of Terra Tech Corp.
Psychiatric care
To the editors:
I am pleased to see you published the article from The Associated Press about Adam Lanza and his father’s immense horror and shame because of his son’s tragic homicidal rampage in Newtown, Conn. (“Newtown shooter’s father ashamed,” March 11 Review-Journal).
Mr. Lanza was reportedly diagnosed as having Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism not associated with violence, at age 13. I am writing to alert readers, educators and medical/psychological professionals to an important caveat to that statement: Individuals who develop Asperger’s syndrome and associated autism spectrum disorders rarely exhibit violent behaviors, but Mr. Lanza did, as did the Unabomber and a few others who have made headlines for committing hideously awful crimes.
The Asperger’s-affected individuals who commit these tragic acts are almost always adolescent boys and young men, and nearly all of them have a long history of being bullied, teased and rejected by peers, neighbors, educators and family members. It is crucial to diagnose and effectively treat Asperger’s-affected children as early as possible, and it is essential they are treated by skilled and experienced child psychiatrists and psychologists.
Mr. Lanza’s father was correct in stating that once these children become older adolescents, as Lanza was, nothing can be been done to treat them and avoid the catastrophes that ensue.
CORYDON G. CLARK, M.D.
LAS VEGAS
The writer is a board-certified child, adolescent and general psychiatrist.
Low readership
To the editor:
As far as I am concerned, Shirley Kennedy’s March 8 letter to the Review-Journal says it all about how the Review-Journal’s focus has switched to mainly local news, among other changes. Ms. Kennedy amply describes my exact thoughts on the rag that the Review-Journal has sadly become.
There are far more urgent and life-threatening situations in the U.S. and worldwide that rightly deserve coverage, so that your readers and loyal subscribers can be kept abreast of all news. Relegating much of this deep within the paper is somewhat puzzling and irritating.
First, we lost Jane Ann Morrison’s column (bad decision), then “Taste of the Town” was moved to Page 2 of the Taste section and given smaller space, while the full-page advertisements continue to expand, presumably at the expense of real stories and professional reporting. No wonder your subscription numbers are dropping. While acknowledging that these ads are necessary for your income goals, being deluged with ads means that on many days, half of the Review-Journal’s pages are just full-page ad after full-page ad.
I have read the Review-Journal for more than 14 years, and I am sure that Ms. Kennedy and I are among the many avid readers who want and indeed demand accurate and up-to-date reporting on all news, not just all the local tidbits, accidents and extraneous subject matter which now seem to be such a high priority. Are the R-J’s executives driving the paper to an early doom? Wake up, all of you. Time is running out.
GEOFF MARSH
LAS VEGAS