Medical marijuana can lead to abuse

When our Legislature passed the medical marijuana bill, I thought it was intended as a vehicle to help patients with pain management outside of conventional medication. Recently, the first shop to offer legal marijuana opened to the joy and relief of the afflicted.

Early Sunday morning, I walked down one of Lanikai’s less frequented pathways to the water and met two young men who were obviously taking advantage of the legal availability of pot. They passed a joint back and forth, giggling with delight.

After all, it was a beautiful day, the ocean was beautiful and their marijuana cigarette was legal. If they were suffering from painful ailments, it was not discernable to the casual observer, but who knows?

These teenage boys had gotten themselves to Lanikai on rented motor scooters, no helmets in view.

I just hope they got home unscathed. We tell our kids not to drink and drive. What about smoking pot and driving?

Mollie Foti

Kailua

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Work on what makes our world peaceful

Sunday’s commentaries, “Path to peace, not war” (Star-Advertiser, Aug. 13), completely missed the most important issue. That is, as many have said, peace is much more than the absence of war.

The crucial issue is a consideration of the qualities of life that create peace: justice, respect, responsibility, honesty, compassion, acceptance — just to mention a few.

If America spent as much money and effort on these aspects of peacemaking as on war and defense, we wouldn’t be in this dilemma with North Korea.

When nations start communicating about what we have in common and find ways to cooperate on our mutual challenges, we will quickly discover we are already on the pathway to peace.

Nations can cooperate on problems of clean water, enough food and adequate shelter, and support each other in creating safe communities, affordable health care, quality education and stable families.

Peace won’t come easily, but it’s doable.

John Heidel

Kailua

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State shouldn’t pay for city’s rail project

The Honolulu rail transit project was initiated by the mayor’s office and was authorized and approved by the City Council.

The responsibility for providing the funding lies directly at the feet of the mayor and our City Council, not in the state Legislature. The mayor and City Council must be held to account for it. They must be made to come to their constituents and ask us for permission to either raise taxes or lower services (or both) to pay for this project.

The half-percent general excise tax surcharge obfuscates and obscures the real financial pain of paying for this project, and it ties the hands of the Legislature to manage our state finances independently.

Joseph Uno

Manoa

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Focus on core issues, not political rhetoric

This needs to be said: Our congressional delegation and their peers need to get on with the nation’s business rather than spending time in the media agonizing over the rhetoric of our president and the distractions resulting from his election.

Our democracy allows us to select our country’s leader every four years, so focus on effectively representing the residents of our state by acting on the urgent business at hand.

There is an urgent need to repair deficiencies of the Affordable Care Act to stop the skyrocketing costs, including the federal tax burden, rising co-payments and the potential loss of insurers that ultimately will hurt the middle- and lower-income classes.

Focus on lowering taxes in the state, especially since we have the dubious honor of being the state with the highest cost of living and highest cost of doing business.

Focus on the urgent need to update our deteriorating infrastructure. Let us not lose the remaining three years in this grand kabuki.

Roy Morioka

Waialae Iki

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Trump, not Bannon, is the real problem

It seems to me that Stephen Bannon’s departure from the White House is, at the least, inconsequential and at the most, a distraction.

It is inconsequential because it doesn’t matter if Bannon is physically on the White House premises; his ideas are in President Donald Trump’s head and heart.

It is a distraction because it takes the focus off the moral imperative of holding Trump accountable for his words and actions — words and actions that show that the president of the United States has no idea of what makes America great.

Wendy Pollitt

Kaneohe

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Ala Wai boat harbor needs a cleanup

My wife and I are visiting from Australia. We live on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

Your pristine beaches and water are very similar to our home and we have really enjoyed the hospitality provided. However, I would like to bring to your attention to the terrible state of the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor.

The debris and garbage in this otherwise beautiful piece of Honolulu is a disgrace. It would not take a huge effort to clean this up, but in not doing so you have an eyesore that is not worthy of this beautiful place.

Rod Lane

Sanctuary Cove, Queensland

Australia