Ruth Mave's article about me in your Monday paper was filled with ignorance regarding medicinal cannabis.

Ruth stated that I never wrote about marijuana addiction.

That's wrong, in July of 2022, right before the Cannabis Referendum, I wrote in this newspaper about the adverse effects of cannabis addiction.

I pointed out scientific evidence has proven statistically that lifetime dependence on cannabis rates are at 9 %, same as caffeine, alcohol has a 15% rate of abuse, and tobacco is 32%.

Ruth also said that I never write about anything else except medicinal cannabis in my letters,

That's incorrect.

I've written innumerably about the corruption that goes on in this nation, namely vote buying, Customs, TMO, Crown Law and Police failure to uphold the laws of this nation, our soaring debt brought on by a burgeoning public servant workforce, and the scandal of Henry Puna being forced by Jacinda Arden to close our border to protect us from the Covid 19 pandemic.

I opposed the reopening of our border until our 5-11 year olds were vaccinated against Covid 19, supported the rainbow community and more, but my most important letter was in defence of the Catholic Church's teachings of Jesus Christ.

Ruth is a rank amateur when it comes to speaking out against corruption in this nation.

Ruth also wrote that she 'is not convinced that our people are at extreme measures of pain that medicinal cannabis requires'.

That comment is incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial, because only a doctor can make that decision when consulting with their patient.

Just like the rainbow community wants to keep the Religious Advisory Council out of their bedroom, medicinal cannabis users want to keep Ruth out of their physician’s office and from interfering with the sanctity of a doctor-patient relationship.

Why does Ruth try to make treating pain controversial?

Why is she an opponent of relief to our people if it's prescribed by a doctor?

The benefits of medicinal cannabis are endless, the use of medical marijuana has been widely successful in treating patients who suffer from a wide range of qualifying debilitating conditions, that number is as high as 53 in some states, approved and recommended by physicians.

Cannabis is extremely safe and effective medication for a large majority of patients,

In stark contrast to opioids and other available pain medication, cannabis is relatively non-addictive and has the best safety record of any known pain medication.

No deaths are attributed to overdose.

Ruth’s claim that I haven't done anything to find different solutions into improving our agriculture production are baseless in fact.

I've promoted industrial hemp as an agricultural commodity, which is already happening in Fiji.

I've written that industrial hemp is an agricultural commodity that is cultivated for use in the production of a wide range of products, including healthy foods and beverages, cosmetics and personal care products, nutritional supplements, fabrics and textiles.

Hemp is highly effective at absorbing contaminants and cleaning up the soil.

Ruth does not have a clue about the benefits our growers will reap when they can cultivate medical marijuana.

Regenerative agriculture is the future of agriculture, and marijuana cultivation is leading the way.

Agriculture is incredibly important to society, research is discovering that cannabis can enrich soil, providing additional nutrients and cleaning the surrounding area.

When marijuana becomes the primary crop for our growers, there's an advantage they will gain by what is called crop rotation.

Under crop rotation, multiple crops are grown like tomatoes and beans, and this will promote different types of nutrients.

Hemp and marijuana cultivation is the future for Cook Islands agriculture,

It will make for better growing for growers.

As I've said before, let's harvest marijuana, not manganese nodules.

Steve Boggs