Senators must fight to save net neutrality

I’m begging our U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz to save net neutrality.

Do not allow corporations to decide what we can search for through the internet. This form of control is something that we will have to struggle to reverse if we do not protect our rights now.

Prevention is easier than cure. Net neutrality has worked fairly for the people, and there is no reason (beyond greed and thirst for corporate power) to repeal our rights. Please take the appropriate action. We are watching. We are taking action. We are concerned. And we will not allow our rights to be taken from us through ignorance.

Melanie Green

Ewa Beach

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Cannabis can help curb opioid abuse

The recent strategy to combat opioid abuse is commendable for its prioritization of individual and public health (“Take steps now to avoid opioid abuse,” Star-Advertiser, Our View, Dec. 5). Yet medical cannabis was regrettably not discussed as a means to curb opioid use, abuse and overdose.

For some states, medical cannabis already is a preemptive means of reducing the number of opioid pills in individual homes and the larger community.

Data in states like California, where medical cannabis has been widely available for more than a decade, show a sustained reduction in the number of opioid prescriptions.

In 2016, researchers in Health Affairs noted a significant reduction in the number of prescriptions where cannabis could serve as a clinical alternative, producing an estimated national cost savings exceeding $165 million.

Those in Hawaii struggling with a substance-use disorder, including opioids, alcohol, amphetamines and other drugs, should be able to legally access medical cannabis to help reduce the harms to their health and well-being.

Nikos Leverenz

Aliamanu

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Medical cannabis law is constitutional

Hawaii’s medical use of cannabis act is not unconstitutional. States hold the authority to accept the medical use of controlled substances, which allowed the state to accept the medical use of marijuana, and create a state-regulated medical use of cannabis program.

Patients who engage in the medical use of cannabis in Hawaii are not subject to the criminal penalties associated with non-medical use as long as they comply with state law, something known as a “carve out.”

As a result, the state and federal scheduling of marijuana do not apply to the medical use of cannabis in Hawaii, because state medical use is currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.

In other words, the medical use of cannabis in Hawaii does not violate federal law. “Does not apply” is nothing new here. Just take a look at federal aviation regulation 14 CFR 91.19.

Clifton Otto, M.D.

Hawaii Kai

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With Moore, GOP has double standard

U.S. Sen. Al Franken has been forced to resign by fellow Democrats because of allegations of sexual misconduct.

The Alabama Republican U.S. Senate candidate, Roy Moore, accused of sexually molesting a 14-year-old girl, and Donald Trump’s comments about groping women, were tolerated and not properly addressed by Republicans.

This difference is a disgraceful double standard by Republicans. Their excuse is, “Let the voters decide,” versus urging action to resolve the accusations.

They continue to remind us that President Trump was elected by a majority of the electoral votes, insinuating that the violation of women and their rights does not matter.

When politicians represent themselves and their interests before the people who put them in office, America is in deep trouble.

Hal Omori

Mililani

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Help veterans add to accounts of wars

As I read about the events planned for Dec. 7, I wondered how many stories from the members from the 442nd and 100th Battalion are part of the Veterans History Project (VHP).

Congress created this VHP in 2000 as part of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Its purpose is to collect, preserve and make accessible the personal accounts of American wartime veterans so future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.

Collections include first-hand oral histories, memoirs, photographs and letters from World War I through current conflicts. A web page is created for each veteran who contributes an interview, memoir or historical documents, and made available free to the public. Volunteers are needed to conduct interviews and collect historical documents. Visit the website, www.loc.gov/vets, for complete information.

Arlene Luster Hanusey

Makiki

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HGEA can’t usurp governor’s authority

Randy Perreira, executive director of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, laid it on the line: “For us, this is all about the employees feeling that this is adversely affecting what they do” (“Union warning over IT projects pose political threat to Ige,” Star-Advertiser, Dec. 10). On the other side of the line is Gov. David Ige, who represents Hawaii taxpayers who are sick and tired of government waste and inefficiency.

The union may oppose this modernization of our state tax and computer payroll systems, but it is not the union’s call, even if Perreira — who is not an expert in government IT systems and in any event is not in charge of them — thinks otherwise.

My advice to Perreira: Stick to your union contract and stop meddling in matters that are none of your business. You do not run the state of Hawaii. Our elected governor does.

Edward D. Lasky

Hawaii Kai