THE OPEN FORUM - 'MARIJUANA: A GATEWAY DRUG'

Offer Truth, Not Lies, Hysteria

How blind can some people be? Clotilde Bowen's Compass article,
'Marijuana: a gateway drug' (June 20), is a pointed example.

Most kids' gateway drug is tobacco or alcohol. Both are illegal for minors
to acquire. So those are the first drug laws that they break. Marijuana is
just the next step. Yes, marijuana is psychologically addictive, but both
tobacco and alcohol are physically addictive. Yet Bowen supports the use
of alcohol on 'cultural' grounds. She even complains that 'there was not a
drink in the house' at a party she attended. She has had a
cigarette smoking habit since early on, but as a doctor seems to find
no problem with that. She's into 'uppers,' not 'downers,' as she states.
Not much of an anti-drug message there.

If we didn't lie to our children about the different degrees of danger
from the various drugs, legal and illegal, then perhaps we could get them
to regard the seriousness of drug use. If we continue to tell them to 'do
as I say, not as I do,' how do we expect them to believe anything that we
say? Truth, education and medical treatment rather than lies, hysteria and
incarceration are the proper tools of a war on drugs.

Robert Stoyko
Wheat Ridge

Marijuana A 'Terminus' Drug

I find it fascinating that medical professionals like Dr. Clotilde Bowen
often dismiss patient testimony advocating marijuana's therapeutic utility
as 'anecdotal,' yet rely exclusively on similar testimonials to support
claims of pot's purported harms. Bowen may indeed have rubbed elbows with
persons whom she believes used marijuana irresponsibly; however, as she
is well aware, the plural of anecdote is not necessarily evidence.

According to the 1999 report conducted by the National Academy of Sciences
Institute of Medicine, 'There is no conclusive evidence that the drug
effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other
illicit drugs.' By the government's own estimates, for every 120 Americans
who have tried marijuana, there is only one regular user of cocaine and
less than one user of heroin. Statistically, marijuana is a terminus,
rather than a gateway, to the world of hard drugs. The ongoing debate
regarding the medical use of marijuana is a worthwhile one. However,
it should not be clouded by those all too eager to confuse a
public health issue with the war on drugs to support their own personal bias.

Paul Armentano
Washington, D.C.
Senior policy analyst, NORML Foundation

Drug War 'Fuels Crime'

Clotilde Bowen makes a mistake all too common among drug war apologists.
She confuses the drug war's collateral damage with the drugs themselves.
Although there is nothing inherent in marijuana that compels users to try
harder drugs like heroin or crack, its black market status puts users in
contact with criminals who push them. Current drug policy is a gateway
policy. Demonizing marijuana as a 'gateway drug' when the drug war is
responsible for the gateway is extremely disingenuous. Then again,
deliberate misinformation is a common tactic among drug warriors.

Alcohol was very much associated with organized crime and violence prior
to the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. Attempts to limit the supply of
illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the
profitability of drug trafficking. In terms of addictive drugs like
heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase
criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight
crime; it fuels crime.

Robert Sharpe
Washington, D.C.
Program officer, Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation