DEFENDING MARIJUANA RALLY

I object to Tony Siciliano's letter of May 17, "Pathetic pro-marijuana
rally," and his deriding the National Organization for the Reform of
the Marijuana Laws (www.norml.org). Our own state has adopted policies
regarding marijuana that were proposed by NORML. The state medical
marijuana research program was signed into law years ago by Governor
Weld, at the behest of local NORML members.

About 30 other states have adopted NORML polices on medical marijuana
and last fall over 60 percent of Maine voters went for a new law
allowing marijuana as medicine, on a doctor's advice. Maine also
allows growing marijuana to get the herbal remedy on a doctor's
advice. Six other states have similar laws to Maine's and Hawaii's
legislature just passed a law close to Maine's.

Mr. Siciliano may be surprised to learn that the Boston chapter of
NORML gets 50,000 people to attend their fall marijuana rally on the
Boston Common.

A low turnout at a marijuana rally may reflect the citizens' fear of
the government, since almost 700,000 people were arrested for
marijuana last year. People are afraid their families will be attacked
by the police or people like Mr. Siciliano.

Kim Hanna, Framingham