Published in the West Milford Messenger, May 9, 2018

It comes as no great shock to me that our council members don't want to discuss marijuana legalization and consider it an "inappropriate" topic.

This once again shows that the majority of council members only pay "lip service" to the principles of individual liberty, limited government and the right to choose.

My fellow Libertarian, Michael Chazukow is to be commended for having the courage to bring this matter before the council, what a shame that only two members seemed to show an interest in discussing it at a future meeting.

Why are the others so fearful of standing up for the right of individuals to control their own lives and bodies without being told how to live by government? Freedom is an issue that you can't play "pick and choose" with, either you're consistently pro-choice on all issues or you're not, I guess we can put most of the council in the anti-choice category, a sad commentary indeed.

Come November, there may be some surprises in store for a lot of politicians around the country, hopefully that will include West Milford.

Sincerely Mark Richards,

West Milford