Marijuana was not put on this earth to be smoked. It is a herb that was put here by God for healing purposes. From the beginning of time Satan has used the things of God for evil. When Satan comes to deceive he deceives about the Word of God. When Satan deceived Eve, he deceived her with God's Word. When the African Hebrew Israelites were held in captivity, God spoke to Moses to set his people free from slavery. So how can some of you believe that it is written in God's Word that slavery is of God. Nowhere in God's Word does God condone slavery.

Those of you that believe this means that anyone can walk in and out of your life and tell you anything. Those of you that believe that smoking marijuana is of God have been deceived. These are the evil things that people do that smoke marijuana: adultery, prostitution, fornication, drug dealing, abuse, cursing, homosexuality, drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, violence, bitterness, unforgiving, stealing, lying and hating someone because of their skin colour.

The majority of people that have smoked marijuana have gone on to do crack, cocaine and heroin. Not one of these evils are of the Spirit of God. Scripture has pre-warned us that there will be some of you that come in the name of the Father, that you will come with false doctrines and false teachings, so don't be deceived by them.

I am a 15-year-old female who is using my God blessed intelligence to discern truth from deception.

DISCERNER OF TRUTH Pembroke Alienating investors April 22, 1999 Dear Sir, What is Paula Cox thinking? Her recent radio comments regarding the immigration issues at Elbow Beach should cause concern for us all. Our tourism industry is in critical condition and is in need of urgent investment and reengineering. At a time when Government, labour and capital providers need to be embracing a partnership approach, Ms Cox seems more intent on alienating potential investors for short term political gain.

At such a desperate time, why wouldn't we welcome direct foreign investment in conjunction with world class managerial expertise? We must recognise that we are competing on a global basis and will need to attract the best and the brightest to turn things around, Bermudian or not.

RLHIII Hamilton Parish Taxing matters April 23, 1999 Dear Sir, Does Bermuda practise predatory pricing as far as taxation? Personally I don't think so, but I guess, as with most issues, there are many angles.

We have a $2 billion economy with an annual fiscal budget of just over $500 million. This is about 25 percent which is somewhat in line with G-7 nations.

This budget is paid for by our tax receipts. One component of the annual budgetary cost is the servicing interest cost of our national debt. Our national debt is about $150 million or about seven percent of GDP. So each year we spend about $10 million just to pay for interest on the deficit.

The United States, however, has very different numbers in this respect. The US has an economy of about $8 trillion with close to $6 trillion of national debt, or a debt to GDP ratio over 70 percent verses seven percent in Bermuda.

Within the US budget, entitlements are the single largest component of annual spending followed by interest on the deficit followed by pentagon or military spending. The interest on the deficit surpassed pentagon spending a few years ago and could get worse as a percentage of GDP if or when the US economy rolls over again.

So deficits and their interest in the US and elsewhere gobble up tax receipts.

This in turn makes tax rates go up which crowds out investment and creates capital flight. Bermuda is being rewarded by investors because their public purse is still in order while the US and others are being punished because their's isn't. In the big picture, "It's the deficits stupid!'' BRIAN WAY Paget Wanted: Point Finger pub April 20, 1999 Dear Sir, I had a really good idea the other day but due to being a non-Bermudian and lack of financial backing I am unable to see the plan through. I think that we need a pub/restaurant on Point Finger Road. There are many people working at the hospital and many people visiting and although the cafeteria in the hospital works very well, I think that it would be good to have a place to go that is outside of the hospital grounds.

You need to get away from work sometimes and into a different environment without the clinical smell. The doctor, nurses, staff and visitors all need a place to go but due to traffic and parking problems they do not want to make the journey into town. What I propose is a spacious restaurant and pub on or around Point Finger Road that would serve us all.

I ask anyone with a load of excess cash -- of which there are many in Bermuda to take this idea for free and put it into effect as the revenue from it, I am sure, will be bountiful.

DAVE THE PLUMBER Paget Pedestrian crossing chaos April 21, 1999 Dear Sir, There are signs indicating that the normal rule for the Trimingham Hill North roundabout is for the morning rush period. By "normal rule'' I mean "give way to traffic on your right.'' However there are no signs indicating that the normal rule for the pedestrian crossing from Crow Lane to the bottom of Spurling Hill is also suspended when a Police Officer is on duty. By "normal rule'' I mean that traffic stops to allow a pedestrian to cross -- provided of course that the pedestrian gives the vehicle sufficient time to safely stop.

The problem with this crossing is that some Police Officers insist that a pedestrian cannot step on to the crossing (even through traffic entering into Hamilton has obeyed the usual crossing rule and stopped) until the Police Officer has stopped traffic exiting Hamilton. On the face of it this is not unreasonable. However, as a morning walker, I am not sure how to handle this crossing in the rush hour period. Do I lurk by Renaissance Re's offices and only approach the crossing when I see the Police Officer stop traffic exiting Hamilton? Do I take another walking route? Do I let traffic entering Hamilton think I am a total idiot when I indicate that I am not going to cross, even though I am standing patiently at the crossing? PUZZLED PEDESTRIAN Pembroke Sentences are a crime April 21, 1999 Dear Sir, I am writing, as have others, regarding Bermuda's increase in crime. I was just listening to the afternoon newscast and heard that a tourist had been robbed and upon putting up a fight was on his way by ambulance to the hospital for his injuries. When is this all going to stop? It is not just happening to our own people but to our main source of income, our tourists. We have a gentleman in our hospital now recovering from potential life threatening injuries that he received from an attack at his home only a few nights before.

When is our justice system going to wake up and see that these people, once they are caught, need to have stricter punishments handed down to them. Bring back the Cat-O-Nine Tails. I myself have been shocked beyond belief at some of the recent sentences handed down. Nine months for, in my opinion, what I would consider attempted murder and fifteen months for manslaughter. How ridiculous does this sound to you? When these criminals go out and commit similar or lesser crimes what in the world do you think is going through their minds? I think anyone can answer this question. They are saying, "Well, I won't serve that much time if I get caught because people have gone up and received only nine to fifteen months for attempted murder and I am only robbing someone so I will only serve a few months, big deal.'' When is our justice system going to see that we have a very big problem here on this Island and something needs to be done and quickly.

I am sure that many other Bermudians are just as surprised by these recent sentences as I myself have been. I wonder what would happen if something serious happened to one of their own family members. I don't think the sentence would be so light then. Do you? GRANAWAY HEIGHTS Southampton No right to criticise April 21, 1999 Dear Sir, Could I possibly have heard the Opposition Leader criticising the Premier/PLP about missing the deadline for appropriations to fund the Baseland's environmental clean-up which should have been in before March of this year? Remember, the UBP's performance! Musical Ministerial chairs! Tim Smith to Youth and Sports from Environment; Pam Gordon to Environment from Youth and Sports with the new look revitalised Cabinet of Pam Gordon, and all of this written the four years since the US Force left the mess on the Bases.

The problem really is that the UBP was "in power''. Let us hope that the PLP is in responsibility. The UBP assiduously avoided the issues -- the thorny issues that they should have dealt with -- race relations, drugs (crime and violence).

Remember they funded the NDC and CURE and then left them both to languish and I could go on for five more pages. It is not that everything they did was wrong for 30 years but they so desperately tried to hang on to "power'' that their record for the last five years was pathetic -- yet they have the gall to blame the PLP for the legacy they left them with on this and many other issues.

Give the PLP a chance -- they cannot do any worse -- and I am sure they will do much better.

SANDERS FRITH BROWN Warwick