VIEWPOINT - POT: MEDICINE OR MALEVOLENCE?

Voters in five states last week approved measures to allow sick people to
smoke marijuana for pain relief.

The question was approved in Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington
state. It was on the ballot in Washington, D.C., but the results have not
been announced.

It was approved in 1996 in California and Arizona, but Arizona voters
raised the question again last week because their legislators put the first
vote on hold, pending federal approval.

In approving its use in five states, voters rejected opposition arguments
that legalizing it for medical purposes would send the wrong message, that
it would torpedo the government's war on drugs. Some opponents believe it
would lead to legalization of marijuana.

The voters did accept the argument that marijuana can provide pain relief
to people with such illnesses as cancer, AIDS and glaucoma.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Is this a ballot initiative that should be considered for Indiana, Kentucky
and Illinois?

Is this an option that should be made available to the ill in our three
states, or would it only open the door to further legalization efforts?

What message would it send to our young?

Send us your letters by Tuesday, and we will publish them Nov. 22 on the
Viewpoint page. Keep them short -- no more than 250 words -- sign them, and
include a daytime telephone number for verification.

Send them by mail to Letters, The Evansville Courier, P.O. Box 268,
Evansville, Ind. 47702. Send them by e-mail to letters@evansville.net" Send
them by fax to (812)422-8196.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski