HYSTERICAL PROPAGANDA

The arguments raised sound like the hysteria of the 1930s. Pot has
been used for thousands of years for its medical properties. And to
compare the difficulty of marijuana withdrawal to that of heroin
sounds more like government propaganda than the truth

Alan Young
Tamarac

POT CAN'T BE STUDIED

Your statement that various studies of pot's medical benefits are
under way is false because the Drug Enforcement Administration
forbids the use of marijuana for clinical study. The National
Institutes for Health and many top universities want to study it but
can't. You quote studies in your editorial. Where were these studies
conducted?

Vince Mastrianni
Davie

LEGALIZATION SCHEME

Weedotherapy is an apt description of "medicinal" marijuana. Not only
is self-medication never wise, marijuana is a dangerous, delusional
drug.

Scientific studies show that 40 percent of people think placebos help
them. Further, if one has read the druggies' own words for 15 years,
as I have, one would know that promoting marijuana as a "medicine" is
part of a three-tiered attack to legalize all "recreational" drugs
(druggies admit that to each other). (The other two tiers: Claiming
the war on drugs has failed and claiming that hemp is the silver
bullet.)

A cartel of legalizers bankrolled by George Soros is (state-by-state)
circumventing federal laws -- including those preventing quackery --
a dangerous precedent.

The "medicinal" aspects within marijuana if synthesized in regular
doses may be beneficial to some people and it warrants further study,
but giving in to the scam is not acceptable. The fate of America's
children hangs in the balance.

John E. English
Springfield, Ore

FALLACIES IN EDITORIAL ON BENEFICIAL USES OF POT

Re the March 28 editorial, "Medicinal marijuana a minefield":

The editors claimed, "While various studies of pot's medical benefits
are under way, the drive to legalize marijuana is based almost
entirely on anecdotal testimony of sick people." This is a false
statement. As a pharmacist, I know that cannabis is the most heavily
studied of any drug. Numerous scientific studies attest to its
efficacy in acting to stimulate appetite, treat nausea and vomiting,
lower blood pressure (while increasing heart rate), treat glaucoma,
treat muscle spasms accompanying multiple sclerosis, ease intractable
chronic pain, and other medical benefits.

The editors said, "The active ingredient in marijuana, THC, is
already available by prescription in pill form." There are many
active ingredients in cannabis besides THC. CBD is one of the more
studied components, showing anticonvulsant activity. CBD is not
available in pill form.

The editors said, "Studies have documented the similarity in
marijuana addiction, and difficulty of withdrawal, to that of heroin
or cocaine. Drug experts consider marijuana a `gateway' drug that
opens the door to experimentation with more harmful illegal drugs."
Cannabis is not physically addicting, nor is it a gateway drug. The
real addictive gateway drugs are cigarettes and beer.

The editors should seek instruction from competent doctors and
pharmacists to help them overcome their bigotry and prejudice toward
cannabis and their blind denial of the fact that the most deadly and
dangerous drugs are tobacco and alcohol.

Tom Barrus
Golden, Colo