SPRAYING DITCH WEED IS WASTE OF RESOURCES IN WAR AGAINST DRUGS

The story, "State cops, county officials fight ditch weed," (July 6)
was written as if law enforcement officers are doing some kind of
patriotic duty by spending millions of tax dollars to poison wild
hemp, but reporter Carmen McCollum missed a crucial point: Ditch weed
originally sown as industrial hemp does not have intoxicating
qualities. No amount is going to get a typical human high. At best,
they'll get a headache and a sore throat.

But instead of letting uninformed pot smokers learn their own hard
lessons, police are actually exposing them to much greater sickness
through the use of herbicides, allegedly to save them from the demon
weed.

This effort is symbolic of the whole drug war -- real resources spent
and real people put at risk all for a "victory" that is at best
symbolic. Even more ironic is the fact that many states are looking
to reinvigorate their agricultural economy with hemp.

If I were an Indiana taxpayer victimized by real criminals while
police are wasting their time spraying harmless weeds, I would be
extremely upset.

The only thing being protected by the effort to poison wild hemp is
the job security of police, who will be back doing the same thing
year after year after year.

Stephen Young Member, Drug Policy Forum of Illinois, Roselle