JURY DESERVES KUDOS FOR ACQUITTAL IN POT CASE

The Amarillo jury that acquitted Tim Stevens of possession of
marijuana is to be commended for its compassion and fiscal
responsibility. Prosecuting peaceful, harmless patients is an absurd
waste of public resources.

The controversy over medical use of cannabis is really a controversy
over whether this very easy to grow herb should be allowed to compete
with pharmaceutical products for pennies on the dollar.

According to surveys conducted by the Australian National Drug and
Alcohol Research Centre in 2004 and by the University of California at
Santa Cruz in 2007, more than two-thirds of people who use marijuana
for medical reasons decrease or stop taking their pharmaceutical
medications altogether.

Texans should follow the lead of the Amarillo jury and tell lawmakers
to stop arresting patients for using a medicinal herb.

Suzanne Wills

Drug Policy Forum of Texas

Dallas