I was disappointed in the Jan. 7 editorial on Measure 110 and its effect on the people of Oregon. Perhaps from a progressive point of view it is not a big deal but it seems to me that the increase in drug use and abuse infects every part of our society. And it has been increasing every since we legalized marijuana. Remember the girl whose trophy elk horns disappeared? They found meth in the guy’s house and he likely intended to sell the horns to buy drugs. And then there is the fellow in the local jail on attempted murder charge. He admitted to taking meth and marijuana that day that he tried to run over his roommate with his car. Maybe there is a problem with locking people up for addiction but don’t we have some responsibility to protect innocent people? Hundreds of people are being killed and injured on our roads by impaired drivers. Measure 110 needs a lot more than some minor adjustments. I hope everyone can read the excellent, well-written letter from the La Grande City Council to our new governor about Measure 110.

But as we are learning from the recent revelations from Twitter and Facebook, progressive policy does not permit opposing viewpoints. The gun violence we hear so much about on Portland TV should be called drug violence. Instead we got Measure 114 and that is a real disaster. It is my opinion that if the voters pamphlet had given a true report on the financial costs of the measure they would not have called it “indeterminate” and the measure would not have passed. Surely they could not have imagined that law enforcement could do all this required for nothing! Again we see that progressive policy has little to do with reality.

Roger Holden

Baker City