POT HARDLY A WONDER DRUG

To the editor:

I can't be the only one to notice that every time The Times Record runs a
story concerning marijuana some out-of-stater inevitably writes a carefully
crafted letter to set the record straight. The last one was unbelievable:
Robert Sharpe of Washington, D.C., tells us that 70 percent of Americans
support medical marijuana. Where do these people get their statistics anyway?

Make no mistake. These groups are after one thing: the complete
legalization of marijuana. Cut this letter out and save it; 10 years from
now (maybe sooner) the argument will shift from medicinal marijuana to
legalizing marijuana altogether. They'll deny it for now.

It's no secret that the push to legalize medicinal marijuana was funded
mostly (if not entirely) from out of state. I was amazed and dismayed with
the passage of the last referendum. I see firsthand the damage marijuana
causes - good kids doing great in school suddenly failing and getting into
trouble; parents buying pot instead of taking care of their children.

According to the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (where I get my
statistics), marijuana is addictive. In 1995, 165,000 people entered drug
treatment programs to kick their marijuana habit. Hardly a wonder drug in
my book.

If there are medically beneficial compounds in marijuana, let scientists
isolate and standardize dosages. Marijuana should be held to the same
standard and testing as any other proposed drug. Currently it's a
crapshoot; marijuana varies greatly in its THC content. It is unacceptable
for a doctor to prescribe medication and have no idea what the dosage is,
yet that is precisely what is happening.

These groups have done a fair job of portraying anyone against medicinal
marijuana as heartless or insensitive. Don't buy into it; let common sense
and not a thinly veiled agenda be your guide. Question the motives and
statistics used in these letters. Find out where they came from and who's
behind them. Call your congressman and senator; tell them you support the
Supreme Court's decision. Give science and pharmaceutical companies time to
research and test this addictive drug. Then ask yourself if you're being
insensitive or simply rational.

Now, I wonder which state will respond to my letter.

Joseph Manhardt
Bath