DEP. DISTT. ATTORNEY IS 'AMAZED'

I continue to be amazed that the relatively small handful of people who
want to smoke pot seem to have more credibility with your editors
concerning the medicinal value of marijuana than the American Medical
Association, the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute,
the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the American Glaucoma Society, the
American Academy of Ophthalmology, the National Eye Institute, the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the
U.S.Congress, etc, etc. None of the above agencies agree with your premise
that smoking marijuana is an effective medicine["A nonsense resolution,
"Opinion, Sept.17].

The latest scientific evidence, according to the president's Office of
National Drug Control Policy, demonstrates that smoked marijuana damages
the brain, heart, lungs and learning and interferes with memory, perception
and judgement. Smoked marijuana contains cancer-causing compounds and has
been implicated in a high percentage of automobile crashes and workplace
accidents.

Marijuana-related visits to hospital emergency rooms have tripled since
1990.Of course, it is well known that marijuana is also associated with
gateway behavior leading to more extensive drug use.

The Congress did the right thing. In the words of the office of National
drug Control policy, "Medicine must be based on science rather than ideology."

Carl W. Armbrust
Santa Ana

Checked-by: Pat Dolan