CANNABIS WAS RESPECTED

In his recent letter, "Don't legalize marijuana," Greg Hoggatt states,
"Throughout history, Americans have not voted on which pain reliever
to take [but] placed [it] in the hands of the FDA, scientists and
medical professionals who are competent to make such decisions, not
government bureaucrats."

I agree -- but prohibition of medicinal cannabis by government
bureaucrats is exactly what happened.

Cannabis, demonized by the Mexican word "marijuana," was a respected,
effective medicine until 1937, prescribed for hundreds of ailments.
Then anti-drug fanatics (and chemical industry lobbyists) got Congress
to interfere with the doctor-patient relationship and outlawed
cannabis over the objections of the American Medical Association,
which desired to keep this valuable medicine available and do more
research on it.

Cannabis prohibition began in the South when whites feared drug-crazed
Negroes would rape white women, then targeted black musicians in New
Orleans playing evil jazz music corrupting young whites, and finally
in Depression-era El Paso when "wetbacks" were stealing American jobs;
the easiest way to deport them was to "discover" they smoked a weed
that would "drive them crazy."

Prohibition is prejudice.

Hoggatt should attend our medicinal cannabis conferences, read the
National Institute of Medicine "Marijuana and Medicine" report or
"Cannabis in Medical Practice," edited by Mary Lynn Mathre, R. N.,
defining the medical and nutritional benefits of cannabis and
non-psychoactive hemp oil.

In my 20 years of cannabis advocacy, not one of Hoggatt's billionaire
friends offered to line my pockets. But I am open to remuneration if
anyone wants to contribute.

Delbert O. Lewis,
Little Rock

Author's note: Upon request of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Voices
staff, I had to forward about 90 pages of "documentation" from various
books to "document the allegations made in your letter." I guess the
truth is hard to differentiate from propaganda, even for media professionals
and politicians.