Readers sound off on weed backlash, ‘Murder She Wrote’ and nurses

New Hyde Park, L.I.: I understand that Susan Shapiro (“Cannabis shop turning nabe to pot,” op-ed, Jan. 14) is upset that she has to deal with the crowds, smoke and other inconveniences of living near New York’s first licensed adult-use cannabis dispensary. However, her op-ed was nothing short of “Reefer Madness”-style propaganda.

First, she offers proof of cannabis’ supposedly “wildly addictive” properties by sharing that she became addicted to it at age 13. No one is arguing that cannabis doesn’t have deleterious impacts on the developing brains of children, and I am sorry that her young adulthood was marred by substance abuse.

However, this does not mean that such harms typically extend to adults who have no childhood history of cannabis use, and just as area playgrounds didn’t become flush with cannabis gummies after the medical variety was legalized in New York, neither will they become flush with cannabis gummies now that the adult-use variety (keyword being “adult”) has been legalized.

Shapiro also baselessly claims that expanded cannabis use will exacerbate pandemic-induced anxiety and depression, when in fact, cannabis can be a much safer alternative to some highly addictive prescription pharmaceuticals that treat these conditions (hence why medical cannabis was previously legalized).

I am sorry Shapiro’s quality of life has been negatively impacted by her proximity to the new dispensary, but that doesn’t excuse her spreading this kind of disinformation. As someone whose job it is to impart knowledge, she should hold herself to a higher standard. Matthew Zeidman

Whiting, N.J.: To Voicer Shirley Watts, who wonders why people online to purchase legal marijuana look so giddy: It’s because it is legal! No more worries about getting arrested for possession, knowing you are buying a safe, quality product from a reliable source with no criminality involved. Bill McConnell

Valley Stream, L.I.: Gov. Hochul and Mayor Smiley were both happy to endorse the cannabis smoking laws. I can only imagine what’s going to happen this summer on the beaches when families are packed together with young children and there is a blanket of teenagers puffing their brains out only feet away. I’m sure it’ll only take one complaint from a parent before an argument erupts and something tragic happens. I hope the endorsers are sued personally by any victims. Good luck to all. John Esposito

Manhattan: The Idaho murder case charging Bryan Kohberger, a criminology student, with the killings of four college students, mirrors an almost identical episode of TV’s “Murder She Wrote” featuring award-winning actress Angela Lansbury as the determined and persistent sleuth Jessica Fletcher. In the amazingly similar episode, Fletcher is guest teaching a college criminology course. One extremely engaged student attempts to commit the perfect murder using information taught in the class. Of course, his attempt to commit an undetectable murder is foiled by the teacher’s formidable detective skills. Elaine Jackson

Commack, L.I.: There have been mentions in news reports about George Santos, who claims to be gay, being married to a woman for seven years (2012-2019). Has anyone researched the possibility that this marriage was only on paper to help the woman move to America and obtain citizenship? It is not uncommon for foreigners to marry U.S. citizens only to be able to become citizens. There are often large payments involved for these arrangements. Knowing Santos as we now do, his participation in a fake marriage for money would not come as a surprise. Yvonne Fitzner

Jamaica: You have Todd and Julie Chrisley (”Chrisley Knows Best”) who are set to report to Florida prisons soon. In the meantime, you have Donald Trump who has done so much more and worse but is not going to prison. What kind of justice is that? Truly sad! God bless America! Charlene Black

Central Islip, L.I.: Regarding giving money to her kids, Marie Osmond said she’s not going to. She said she doesn’t know anyone who became something by having money handed to them. Not true! Donald Trump’s father handed him money and he became a jerk. Thomas Sarc

Goodyear, Ariz.: From a fiscally demented GOP to a physically demented Dem, I am really disappointed that I can’t say master bedroom anymore. Peter Provenzale

Port Jefferson Station, L.I.: To all the sheeple out there worried about gas stoves giving kids asthma, think about this: Before electricity entered people’s homes, there were gas lights, lanterns and stoves that people used to read by, cook with and use to warm their homes. Now, suddenly, a scientific genius named AOC says gas is bad, oh so very bad for us. Is she really that stupid and ignorant or is this just another thing the left wants to remove from our list of choices? People, wake the heck up! The more the government shuts down our choice of anything, the more control they have over us. Bob Cavaliere

Fresh Meadows: Twenty years ago, gas stove users all had to do without a hot meal for the one-day blackout. One day of sandwiches once in a blue moon is better than breathing the lung-invading particulate matter — nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde gas — stoves emit. With all the gas stoves we use, New York’s asthma rate of nearly 19% towers over the national 12.7% rate. Hey, New York, nearly 60% of U.S. households are already cooking with electric while we’re still accepting the 80-year-old gas industry advertising slogan made to fight electric stoves, “now you’re cooking with gas” (like it’s a good thing). No one is coming to take your gas stove away, but Gov. Hochul is supporting the All-Electric Buildings Act, ending gas use in new construction plus shifting the state from dirty fuels to clean, renewable ones. Now you’re breathing clean air — way better than cooking with gas. Sara Rebecca Storch

Boynton Beach, Fla.: Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a man of the highest integrity, has raised the alarm! IRS agents, 87,000 of them hired by the Democrats, will be coming to your home armed with their AR-15s, ready to shoot and confiscate your gas ovens. Oops! Sorry folks, I misquoted Grassley — the IRS agents are going after middle-class and small businesspeople investigating pass-through income. William T. Bredin

Kew Gardens: I echoed a sigh of relief when President Biden told us that classified documents were in the garage with his Corvette. I would have been beside myself if they were residing with a ‘55 Buick. Phil Serpico

Manhattan: I support the nurses’ fight for better staffing ratios. I had an asthma attack and went to a large and busy emergency room. I did not see a nurse for a good hour after I first saw her and had received a shot of epinephrine, which can cause a heart attack if overused. I had almost died of an asthma attack in that same emergency room a decade earlier. I had to get another shot of epinephrine because my Alupent drip had ended. When I complained about the lack of attention, I was told there was only one nurse in the ER! The nurses’ fight is our fight for decent health care. Why do these private hospitals with CEOs making millions of dollars stand in the way of patients and medical staff in trying to get safe staffing? It is a matter of life or death to some. I need a nurse, not a CEO! Ralph Palladino

Brooklyn: How is it an NYPD captain can get away with stealing $60,000 from NYC taxpayers, which is grand larceny, and he is allowed to retire with his partial pension (”Cop forced out after being paid $60K for hours he never worked,” Jan. 17)? I will tell you how! The only difference between the cops and the bad guys is the badge. Any New Yorkers stealing $60K from their employer would not only not be able to retire, but we would get locked up like he should have been. Harvey Kaplan