Residents in Hayden will have two local issues to vote on.

The first issue is whether the town should collect taxes on the wholesale sales of marijuana grown by cultivators…

Hayden voters are also being asked whether they want the town to continue adding fluoride to the drinking water.

Many municipalities across the country for the past 70 years have put fluoride into drinking water with the belief that it helps prevent tooth decay.

During a May 21 Hayden Town Council meeting, a council member said the council should discuss whether to continue adding fluoride to the water. On June 4, the council directed the town staff to put the question on the ballot.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy support putting fluoride in the drinking water.

“Water fluoridation’s biggest advantage is that it is the best method for delivering fluoride to all members of the community regardless of age, education, income level or access to routine dental care,” Murthy wrote in a report this summer. “Fluoride’s effectiveness in preventing tooth decay extends throughout life, resulting in fewer and less severe cavities. In fact, each generation born since the implementation of water fluoridation has enjoyed better dental health than the preceding generation.”

The Fluoride Action Network opposes fluoride. According to the group’s website, fluoridation is an outdated form of mass medication; it is unnecessary and ineffective and it is not a safe practice.

“Europe reached this conclusion a long time ago,” the website states. “It is now time for the U.S. and other English-speaking nations to follow suit.”

See original article

Print PDF