STORY ONE-SIDED

Your Aug. 7 front-page article by Chris Conrad, "Medical marijuana
dilemma," presents only one side of the story.

The medical marijuana law was not passed to make life easier for cops;
it was passed to make life easier for patients. It is doing that. Over
2,000 Oregon physicians have qualified more than 14,000 patients.
These doctors recommend marijuana because it works. It turns out that
marijuana is much safer than morphine, oxycontin or most of the other
pharmaceutical painkillers.

Lt. George scoffs at the "chronic pain" that dogs many patients. I
hope he never has to experience the suffering that would quickly
change his mind.

There have unfortunately been some thefts of patients' gardens.
Thankfully law enforcement has done a good job of catching the thieves.

We can minimize the problem if we create a system of regulated
dispensaries so that patients don't have to produce their own medicine.

That would make life easier for the police and the patients.

JOHN SAJO

Dillard