FINALLY, THE TRUTH ABOUT POT

"Do not drive or operate heavy machinery." "May cause dizziness or
disorientation." "Not to be taken while pregnant or nursing." "May
cause nausea, diarrhea, or other digestive disturbances." "May result
in internal bleeding and liver damage." "Use of this product can
produce convulsions, coma, and death."

Whew! These are just a few of the warnings on products I can easily
purchase at the corner drugstore over the counter or with a
prescription from my friendly family doctor.

The recently released study by the Institute of Medicine found that
the only detrimental effect of using marijuana was lung irritation in
long-term use. Did we really need a multimillion-dollar study to tell
us that inhaling smoke from burning leaves is irritating? Does a
terminal cancer or AIDS patient care about lung irritation? Lung
irritation is far less ominous than the detrimental effects of
prescriptoin medications, which result in more than 100,000 deaths a
year. Marijuana use has never caused a single death.

Much to the chagrin of the drug warriors, the Institute of Medicine
also proved conclusively that marijuana is not a gateway drug. Of
course not; marijuana is an herb. Who ever heard of a gateway herb?

How much longer will we allow government to bastardize the truth and
deny its people the free and unlimited use of this safe and versatile
medicinal herb?

August Salemi
Atascadero