POT VS. MARTINIS

Editor -- Regarding your Feb. 13 editorial, "Up in science": The
rigorous medical marijuana study conducted by AIDS researchers at San
Francisco General Hospital is a welcome change of pace.

For decades, the federal government has consistently blocked studies
that might demonstrate the medical efficacy of marijuana, while
spending millions on politicized junk science designed to document
the plant's alleged harms. It would be interesting to research the
dubious hypothesis that jail cells and criminal records are effective
health interventions.

They have clearly failed as deterrents. The University of Michigan's
Monitoring the Future study reports that lifetime use of marijuana is
higher in the United States than any European country, yet America is
one of the few Western countries that uses its criminal-justice
system to punish citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis.

ROBERT SHARPE

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington