Letters to the Editor (Feb. 11)

Allegiance to Trump

Editor:

(Former) President Trump’s reluctance to concede defeat after the Nov. 3 election reminded me of a picture my dad showed me of Sewell Avery, chairman of Montgomery Ward.

Avery, a renowned businessman in the early 1900s ran afoul of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal program initiatives by refusing to settle a strike in 1944.

Roosevelt’s administration removed Avery with two soldiers hoisting him by the arms from his office. Dad’s photo showed Avery being carried out in a sitting position looking defiant and smug, confident that he was doing his customers and investors proud. During these strange times it’s tempting to muse about (former) President Trump exiting the same way.

Avery’s absence was temporary and he quickly returned to work. It’s too soon to know if Trump will do the same, but he has hinted at a 2024 presidential run.

That would be interesting. Several Trump loyalists — Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo, Chris Christie and Nikki Haley — also have an eye on 2024. I’m curious to see if their allegiance to Trump will endure once they all become rivals for the Republican presidential nomination.

Include fair-weather supporters like Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz and you have the ingredients for some primary debate fireworks. Watching the upstarts politely push Trump aside could be entertaining.

Democrats snickering about poetic justice shouldn’t gloat, but can you blame them?

Jim Newton

Itasca, Ill.

Alternative to legalization

Editor:

With more than 100,000 patients currently enrolled in the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program, the state Legislature must guarantee that patient protections remain a top priority during this session.

With an increased public willingness to legalize recreational cannabis a political desire for increased tax revenue, the decision must not occur in a political vacuum nor a mad dash for cash during a pandemic causing undue economic and societal hardships.

I’ve been at the forefront of New Mexico’s medical cannabis debate for two decades, first, as an activist advocating legalization for medicinal purposes.

Secondly, I am the founder and president of R. Greenleaf Organics, one of the state’s top medical cannabis providers. Serving thousands of patients annually, our mission remains to provide high-quality, safe cannabis medicine for New Mexico’s most vulnerable patients.

The proposed Cannabis Wellness Bill is a responsible alternative to legalizing recreational cannabis. This approach safeguards our Medical Cannabis Program by expanding a system that is already functional but does so in a measured way. It will also immediately generate new tax revenue without additional, excessive and costly bureaucracy.

As a company and industry, we’ve demonstrated a dependable approach to providing New Mexicans with safe, reliable, and regulated medicine for the past decade.

Let’s continue to live up to the promise by supporting a Cannabis Wellness Bill that will always put our patients ahead of profits.

Willie Ford

Albuquerque

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