READER RESPONSES TO LAST WEEK'S 'WEED AND GREED' ARTICLE

The problem with marijuana prohibition is that it is based on known
lies. Drug Task Force officer Chuck Hearn's claim that "Marijuana is
kind of a gateway drug" is an example.

The 1997 U.S. government sponsored Institute of Medicine (IOM) study
on Medical Marijuana debunked the notion that marijuana use leads to
heroin addiction with this pointed conclusion- "Whereas the stepping
stone hypothesis presumes a predominantly physiological component to
drug progression, the gateway theory is a social theory."

The latter does not suggest that the pharmacological qualities of
marijuana make it a risk factor for progression to other drug use.
Instead it is the legal status of marijuana that makes it a gateway
drug." (The IOM report is online at: http://www.drugsense.org/iom_report/ )

In other words, any gateway phenomena is caused by the drug laws that
officer Chuck Hearn promotes and enforces. Legalizing and regulating
marijuana for adult use will close the gateway.

Ralph Givens