Reader Concern: Legal Marijuana Edibles in Missouri Are Tempting Children

THC Danger

In the past two weeks, I have seen over five preschoolers who have had to go to the hospital because their breathing and mental status have been altered by eating edible marijuana. As a pediatrician, I know that these accidents can expose children to harmful medical procedures such as brain radiation and ventilation, but they are preventable.

In 2022, we voted to make THC products more accessible for more than just medical use. The problem now is that we’re not treating them like medicine anymore. Children are at risk. High-end edibles designed to look like brightly colored, tasty candies are a particular problem. Packaging requirements changed last year, but still allow for colorful labels and minimal child resistance.

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We can do more to protect our children. We should learn from Hawaii and demand safer and less attractive THC products and packaging. In the meantime, I urge you to treat your THC and CBD edibles like any other medication and store them in a high cabinet or locked drawer. Please don’t let the mythical “first person to die from weed” be your son, daughter, niece, nephew, or grandchild.

– Hank Unterschuetz, Kansas City

Fighting words

After the recent attack on Donald Trump, I am even more convinced that the positions of many far-right candidates incite violence from all political extremes.

A candidate for governor proudly posts: “Here in Missouri, we believe in boys and girls. Not its, theys or thems. We worship God, not abortion. We cling to guns, not government. And we know where illegal immigrants belong…get the HELL out of here.”

How should a normal and reasonable person respond to this inflammatory rhetoric?

-Andy Hickerson, Leawood

Not the same

Refugees are a specific category of immigrants.

I have spent much of my adult life serving refugees. They fled political events that put their lives in immediate danger. They spent years in refugee camps waiting for U.S. and UN officials to confirm that:

They did not flee because of financial problems.

They were not criminals fleeing justice in their home countries.

These safeguards cannot be applied to border crossers who enter our country illegally. Most refugees flee their home countries in fear for their lives and begin hard labor shortly after arriving in the United States. They must live in the U.S. continuously for five years before they can apply for citizenship. Criminal offenses can jeopardize their dreams.

Please stop equating border crossers – who in doing so demonstrate a willingness to live a lawless life once they arrive here – with refugees.

I know a few border jumpers as well. They often live in the same neighborhoods as refugees. Many border jumpers often return home and enter the US illegally multiple times.

In their origins, motives, goals, and level of commitment to the United States, refugees and border crossers are different. Things that are different are not the same.

-Michael Sands, Kansas City

Tax error

On August 6, Kansas City residents will vote on a Missouri constitutional amendment that would exempt child care facilities from property taxes. While the proposal may be sympathetic, it is a bad idea. Any small benefit to families with children would be offset by higher taxes for everyone else.

This proposal does nothing to reduce government spending. Any reduction in the property tax base would result in higher property taxes for other entities that do not receive this special exemption, such as your home. I think Jackson County homeowners are fed up with the property tax increase.

Many child care businesses are for-profit businesses. Nonprofit child care facilities, including those in churches, are already tax exempt. I see no reason why for-profit child care businesses deserve a tax exemption while other businesses do not. The argument that something should be tax exempt because, as the ballot measures state, it would “support the well-being of children, families…and society” is essentially meaningless. Anything could be tax exempt by that logic.

The property tax base needs to be broad so that rates can be as low as possible. Shrinking that tax base is truly damaging. Kansas City voters need to remember that next month.

-David Stokes, Director of Municipal Policy, The Show-Me Institute, St. Louis

Time for national anthem

I initially thought Ryan Rusak’s proposal to eliminate the national anthem from sporting events was a joke. (July 25, 11A, “You’re not going to like this idea, but it would protect the anthem.”) His reason? A drunk country singer botched her performance at the recent Major League Baseball Home Run Derby. Social media was vocal about it. Why? Because it showed disrespect to our flag, our country, and those who died or were injured trying to save it.

If there was ever a time to promote the flag and the song that celebrates it, it is now. A few bad renditions are hardly a reason to abandon history. There may be time clocks that dictate the speed of the game, but we have time to honor our flag with a two-minute song.

– Rick Merker, Olathe

A bright future

In Kamala Harris, we have a viable candidate to dethrone Trump, the Don of delusions, in the November election. In the meantime, we have the same capable vice president to help President Joe Biden carry out the duties of his remaining term.

Our future is bright; our democracy is safe again. VP Harris: Go for it, girl.

– Maria Coughlin, Kansas City

Just throw it away

Imagine Kamala Harris and Donald Trump proudly talking about their own accomplishments and what they want to achieve if elected president.

It turns out to be very difficult to promote yourself exclusively without insulting your political opponent with hate speech.

-Steve Shaw, Kansas City