REGULATION IS NOT LEGALIZATION!

To the Editor:

May I respond to your photo forum, May 2, which asks, "Should marijuana be
legalized and dispensed for medical use?"

Dispensing marijuana by physician's approval and government distribution
wouldn't be legalizing it. It would be "regulating" it, just like the
pill, Marinol, the synthesized version of cannabinoid Delta 9 THC, found in
the marijuana plant.

The federal government forbids research, especially research that shows
positive effects from the use of marijuana. The public is only informed of
negative research.

Keep in mind that there is big competition in the medicine business. The
pharmaceutical companies do not want marijuana used for medical purposes
because it would threaten their profits. If they could "synthesize" water
and sell it to the public for explosive profits, believe me, they would.

SCOTT DYKSTRA