MARIJUANA IS DANGEROUS

Freedom of speech was fought for and safeguarded by hundreds of
thousands of American soldiers. And that freedom is enjoyed even by
those who encourage our children to use psychoactive and addictive
substances and who would have us abandon efforts to stop the use and
spread of these debilitating substances.

The U.S. loses more than 50,000 lives to illicit drugs each year and
16,000-plus are children. Society remains ignorant of the death toll
and is lulled into thinking that marijuana is innocuous because the
media ignore these numbers.

Marijuana is now a leading cause of drug-related emergency room
episodes and the leading cause of admission to substance abuse
treatment facilities. Yes, marijuana contains compounds that have
medical potential, but so does snake venom. Medicine made from snake
venom, however, is marketed by its pharmaceutical name. Any
medicinal-grade compounds found in marijuana should also be referred
to by their pharmaceutical name.

Despite the protestations of folks like letter writer Larry Little,
the bottom line is we aren't spending enough on combating drug use,
and pushing legalization of marijuana under a medical pretext is just
plain dishonest and dangerous.

Sandra S. Bennett,

La Center