We ask those who sponsored The Beachcomber ad if you would also try to prevent a group from buying the K2 property for use by Vashon wineries and breweries. Our plan would include signs promoting Vashon-made products, tasting rooms and retail sales. Unless those behind the ad are also opposed to alcohol being sold “in plain view” here on Vashon, we find their ad hypocritical.

Alcohol abuse dwarfs all other forms of substance abuse. Yet Vashon already has a highly visible winery and liquor store right on the highway. Where are the protests? Substance abuse has nothing to do with whether something is legal. If desired, pot or alcohol will be acquired.

Making pot legal has not hurt the Netherlands. The number of Danes using pot is much smaller than the number of Americans using pot. The stats from the U.S. Substance Abuse Services Administration and the Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction show that for 2009, 41.5 percent of U.S. citizens ages 12 and up reported using pot in the last year versus just 25.7 percent of Danes using it.

Making alcohol and pot legal, available, regulated and taxed is the best approach. Educating about responsible use and adequately funding addiction counseling are what is needed to address substance abuse. The tone of last week’s ad simply reeks of Nancy Reagan’s failed “Just Say No” campaign.

— Joe Curiel and Tony Raugust,
Monument Farm and Vineyard