To the editor: In his letter to the editor headlined Marijuana Better
Than Other Drugs (The Daily News Oct. 20), Dana Larsen takes the words
right out of my mouth when he says: "Choosing to use marijuana instead
of these other drugs is a wise and responsible decision public-health
officials should support."

I'm a 40-year-old man who's often taken for 30. I'm retired now, but
less than five years ago, I was winning international-level bicycle
races. Being so very health conscious, I've eschewed alcohol and
cigarettes all my life. Since my teenage years, I've found smoking
marijuana more enjoyable and less taxing on my physical abilities than
those accepted (read subsidized) vices.

People should be applauded for adopting this healthy lifestyle choice
instead of deadly cigarette and alcohol habits. Our governments'
support of the alcohol and tobacco industries while destroying
people's lives for choosing a safer alternative results in distrust of
authority by the youth of today ... just as it did when we were
teenagers in the '70s.

David Soul Boston, Mass. Via the Internet