NO 'REEFER MADNESS,' PLEASE

Re: Dr. Michael T. Jamison's April 27 commentary, "Medicinal
marijuana at what cost?":

I don't care how many letters Jamison has following his name, he is
flat wrong in his commentary about medical marijuana. He speaks with
the authority of a doctor on a subject that he obviously knows nothing about.

As Jamison is a doctor, I would expect he would know that marijuana
is not a narcotic, yet he still uses that terminology.

A Star article from April 11 offered this quote:

"The youth told authorities the group of friends had been drinking.
Police found an empty liquor bottle, a marijuana pipe and an empty
canister from a medical marijuana dispensary in the car.

"The influence of alcohol in the crash was "apparent" to the deputies
and coroner at the scene."

There was alcohol all over the car and a victim said they had been
drinking, yet Jamison barely mentions the destructive effects of
alcohol, instead choosing to write a misinformed commentary blaming
the evils of marijuana for the accident.

He says a medical marijuana card is a "get out of jail free" card,
seemingly not understanding that possession of small amounts of
marijuana was decriminalized in 1975.

He dodges years of clinical studies demonstrating that marijuana is
not addictive by saying they "want it really, really bad," a
statement that is inaccurate at best.

I'm not suggesting that people should drive under the influence of
anything at all, but I am suggesting that a medical doctor with an
alphabet soup following his name should know better than to try to
authoritatively disseminate the kinds of scare tactics that were part
of "Reefer Madness," the 1930s propaganda film.

He's certainly entitled to his opinion, but when he weighs in with
all his credentials, it gives his opinion a weight that the facts
clearly demonstrate it does not deserve.

- -- Bruce C. Marshall, Santa Paula