<strong><span class="subhead">Adoption tax credits</span></strong></p><p>In August 2007, I sent the following letter to Gov. Matt Blunt, Rep. Sam Graves, state Sen. Charlie Shields and Rep. Jason Brown:</p><p>My wife and I adopted two special-needs children over three years ago. This was an enormously expensive venture, but we took some comfort in the fact that Missouri offered adoption tax credits for people like us.</p><p>We filled out all the appropriate paperwork. To our disappointment, we were told that due to limited funds, only a portion of our promised refund would be awarded us.</p><p>The next tax year, 2006, we applied for the remainder of our special-needs adoption credit. Once again, we were disappointed. We were told that Missouri would be keeping these funds for at least six months, and that we could not even apply for a refund until July 1.</p><p>On July 1, we sent in our paperwork again. As of this writing, we have not heard back from the Department of Revenue.</p><p>We cannot help but think that if it becomes widely known that Missouri does not make good on adoption credits, the number of adoptions in our state will diminish.</p><p>Please help make refunds of special-needs adoption tax credits a priority. Our state&#8217;s unwanted children need your help.</p><p><p align="right"><strong>Raymond E. Smith</strong></p> <p align="right"><em>Platte City</em></p> <strong><span class="subhead">Medical marijuana, Missouri</span></strong></p><p>I was born with cerebral palsy and discovered early on that cannabis mitigated the most painful physical and emotional manifestations of my disorder. I later learned that cannabis can help stutterers speak more clearly and that decades ago, doctors discovered the herb&#8217;s ability to alleviate muscle spasms, from which I also suffer.</p><p>A year ago my children and I reluctantly fled our home in Kansas City and headed for the sanctuary of California&#8217;s Compassionate Use Act.</p><p>Although 12 states have enacted medical cannabis laws that protect patients against state penalties, patients in the remaining states risk losing their careers, their freedom and even their families because they use a natural, nontoxic medicine to treat illness rather than expensive and addictive pharmaceutical drugs.</p><p>Now that a bill to protect medical cannabis patients has been introduced in the General Assembly, Missouri has an opportunity to step up and do the right thing.</p><p>Patients all over the state are anxiously awaiting the assignment of House Bill 1830 to the Health and Public Policy Committee. Please contact House Speaker Rod Jetton and ask him to open his heart to Missouri medical cannabis patients so that they may stop living in pain, fear and misery.</p><p><p align="right"><strong>Jacqueline Patterson</strong></p> <p align="right"><em>Bolinas, Calif.</em></p> <strong><span class="subhead">End &#8216;stop loss&#8217; policy</span></strong></p><p>I am the mother of an Army soldier who recently returned to the U.S. from Iraq. I hear a lot about ending the war, but realistically, no matter what happens, our soldiers will be there for a while to come.</p><p>So I&#8217;d like to know who will stop the deceptive, dishonorable &#8220;stop loss&#8221; policy. No one is addressing this issue.</p><p>A lot of our soldiers joined because they wanted truth, clarity, honor and direction. The Army emphasizes courage, strength, honor, keeping your word, etc. Why are they being allowed to do the opposite and teach my son that men with power do what they want and not what they preach?</p><p>The policy states that if your out date is within two months either way of your unit being deployed, they &#8220;stop loss&#8221; you and you have to return to Iraq, no matter what.</p><p>My son has honored his commitment as of September 2008, but his unit is scheduled to return in November 2008.