'MARIJUANA: A GATEWAY DRUG'

Offer Truth, Not Lies, Hysteria

Wednesday, June 27, 2001 - How blind can some people be? Clotilde
Bowen's Compass article, "Marijuana: a gateway drug" (June 20), is a
pointed example.

Most kids' gateway drug is tobacco or alcohol. Both are illegal for
minors to acquire. So those are the first drug laws that they break.
Marijuana is just the next step. Yes, marijuana is psychologically
addictive, but both tobacco and alcohol are physically addictive. Yet
Bowen supports the use of alcohol on "cultural" grounds. She even
complains that "there was not a drink in the house" at a party she
attended. She has had a cigarette smoking habit since early on, but as a
doctor seems to find no problem with that. She's into "uppers," not
"downers," as she states. Not much of an anti-drug message there.

If we didn't lie to our children about the different degrees of danger
from the various drugs, legal and illegal, then perhaps we could get
them to regard the seriousness of drug use. If we continue to tell them
to "do as I say, not as I do," how do we expect them to believe anything
that we say? Truth, education and medical treatment rather than lies,
hysteria and incarceration are the proper tools of a war on drugs.

Robert Stoyko,
Wheat Ridge

Marijuana A "Terminus' Drug

I find it fascinating that medical professionals like Dr. Clotilde Bowen
often dismiss patient testimony advocating marijuana's therapeutic
utility as "anecdotal," yet rely exclusively on similar testimonials to
support claims of pot's purported harms. Bowen may indeed have rubbed
elbows with persons whom she believes used marijuana irresponsibly;
however, as she is well aware, the plural of anecdote is not necessarily
evidence.

According to the 1999 report conducted by the National Academy of
Sciences Institute of Medicine, "There is no conclusive evidence that
the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent
abuse of other illicit drugs." By the government's own estimates, for
every 120 Americans who have tried marijuana, there is only one regular
user of cocaine and less than one user of heroin. Statistically,
marijuana is a terminus, rather than a gateway, to the world of hard
drugs. The ongoing debate regarding the medical use of marijuana is a
worthwhile one. However, it should not be clouded by those all too eager
to confuse a public health issue with the war on drugs to support their
own personal bias.

Paul Armentano,
Washington, D.C.

The writer is a senior policy analyst for the NORML Foundation.

Drug War "Fuels Crime'

Clotilde Bowen makes a mistake all too common among drug war apologists.
She confuses the drug war's collateral damage with the drugs themselves.
Although there is nothing inherent in marijuana that compels users to
try harder drugs like heroin or crack, its black market status puts
users in contact with criminals who push them. Current drug policy is a
gateway policy. Demonizing marijuana as a "gateway drug" when the drug
war is responsible for the gateway is extremely disingenuous. Then
again, deliberate misinformation is a common tactic among drug warriors.

Alcohol was very much associated with organized crime and violence prior
to the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. Attempts to limit the supply of
illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the
profitability of drug trafficking. In terms of addictive drugs like
heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase
criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight
crime; it fuels crime.

Robert Sharpe,
Washington, D.C.

The writer is a program officer at the Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy
Foundation.