BACKERS OF POT INITIATIVE ARE NAIVE

To The Editor:

Regarding your Oct. 4 story, "Clergy members support effort to
legalize marijuana":

At the risk of my comments being labeled "incredibly demeaning and
insulting" to Sister Toni Woodson and the various clergy who are
advocating the legalization of marijuana, I have just one word for them: naive.

As a mother in a large extended family that has been dealing with
multiple drug addictions for more than 15 years, I would suggest that
people listen to Las Vegas police Lt. Stan Olsen. He is not spouting
nice theories that look good on paper but are worthless in the real
world. He and his fellow officers encounter the devastation of drug
addiction every day, up close and personal. And anyone who thinks
that kids won't be able to get drugs if they are "carded" is living
in a dream world.

It defies logic to believe that legalizing a drug will cut down on
drug addiction. It's been a long time since Prohibition was repealed.
Ask Lt. Olsen how many DUIs he sees every day.

I belong to a Nar-A-Non group, and every week I listen to the
horrifying stories of families torn apart by drug addiction. Nearly
all of these stories begin with or somehow involve marijuana. There
is a reason why it is called the "gateway drug" -- and I don't care
how many "exceptions to the rule" write in to dispute this. They are
just that, "exceptions to the rule."

And, by the way, some of the worst drug addictions these days are
caused by legally prescribed pills. How does that fit in with the
"legalize pot" theory?

We have a huge drug addiction problem in this country and I don't
have an answer. But I'm sure that legalizing more drugs is not it.

Linda Caterine

Henderson