POT VOTE ARTICLE A DISSERVICE

From the tongue-in-cheek headline to the lack of investigation into
the issue, Marjory Raymer's article, "Flint pot vote mostly
symbolic," [Feb. 5, page A1] repeatedly dismissed scientific studies,
political support of the issue and all consideration for the affected
communities.

The "pot vote" is actually a medical marijuana initiative that will
allow Flint's registered voters to decide if patients under a
physician's care in Flint should be exempt from the provisions of the
code making it a criminal offense.

Though the article extensively describes Charles Snyder's recent
legal struggles, it includes almost no discussion of Snyder's
lifelong struggles with nail patella syndrome. This genetic disease
affects connective tissues and bones, impairs movement, makes walking
difficult, causes great pain and often leads to osteoarthritis and
glaucoma. Since Snyder's doctor has prescribed Oxycontin, an often
addictive narcotic, his symptoms must be serious.

Apparently, Snyder had been avoiding the use of Oxycontin by using
marijuana. As Snyder was busted with 12 plants and handed only a $500
fine, it suggests that the judge involved in the case agreed that
Snyder's use of marijuana is medicinal and that jailing patients is
not in the best interest of anyone. This judge's opinion would be
supported by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has supported an
amendment that would permit the use of medical marijuana with a
doctor's recommendation.

The article also ignored all of the science. Unlike Oxycontin users,
marijuana users were found by a U.S. Institute of Medicine's report,
Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base, to be "less
likely to (develop dependency) than users of other drugs (including
alcohol and nicotine), and marijuana dependence appears to be less
severe than dependence on other drugs."

In Flint, where the jail has been overcrowded since its doors opened,
the voters will decide Feb. 27 whether it is prudent to jail AIDS
patients, cancer patients, multiple sclerosis patients and the scores
of others attempting to remain lucid while their doctors legally
prescribe heavy narcotics for their pain.

Melodee K. Hagensen

Flint