Thanks To Colarusso, No Pot Shops In Stoneham

A Letter to the Editor from Lori Anne McPherson:

I feel very fortunate to have Caroline Colarusso as our Selectwoman. As other Massachusetts communities are opening up pot shops today, thankfully, and because of Caroline’s efforts Stoneham is not one of them.

She made it a priority to push for a meeting to give Stoneham the ability to "opt out” of pot shops. She went door to door and she organized volunteers to outreach to residents to make sure they attended the meeting to vote. Despite efforts at town meeting from her political opponents to initiate a secret ballot her efforts still prevailed, and so did common sense.

Caroline did not have to do all of that for us but she did. Where were our community groups that are supposed to be fighting for our children to stay off drugs? Where were our community leaders? Our politicians? No where to be found.

Caroline always takes a stand against every issue she feels would hurt Stoneham, its children and its families.

We are about to see the effects statewide of pot shops, motor vehicle safety, teen usage uptick, and many other consequences of making pot legal in Massachusetts. There are very few non politicians who will stand up for what is right when it's difficult to do so, but Caroline Colarusso is one of them. It is sad that she stands alone when it comes to many things, it just goes to show you that Stoneham needs more leaders like her, and needs to move away from the “townie elections” each Spring. We have no democracy when everybody is following the lead of a select few running our town with an appetite for increased taxes and fees, and little regard for those struggling to make ends meet. The system should work for all of us not just a few of the good old boys. For decades I dealt with a problem plaguing MY neighborhood that was deliberately ignored by the town, it was only Caroline who helped me and my family.

The next time you are taking a stroll down Main Street imagine what it would be like with a pot shop open for business. Then give Caroline a phone call or an email to let her know how much you appreciate her. The town would be in much worst shape without her!

Lori Anne McPherson, Oriental CT.