FUNDAMENTAL FLAW IN THEIR LOGIC

RE LETTER to the editor comment which stated "Studies prove marijuana use
leads to other narcotics." That's untrue. Studies merely suggest it;
however, there is a fundamental flaw in their logic. A statistical study
showed people who use marijuana are 79 times more likely to use cocaine at
some other time in their life. Seems compelling, eh?

Consider this same study showed people who consume alcohol are 106 times
more likely to use cocaine at some point in their life than people who
don't. It doesn't mean alcohol "causes" people to move to cocaine. I
occasionally have a glass of wine, but my preference is marijuana. I have
never had the urge to try harder drugs. There isn't much someone could do
to persuade me to, either.

Kirk Nechamkin

(But many do.)

YOUR STATEMENT that marijuana leads to harder drugs is not true. Studies
over the last 70 years have pointed this out. If you took all the heroin
addicts and asked them if they used marijuana, the answer would be probably
around 100%. But if you asked all the long-term marijuana users if they are
long term hard-drug users, the percentage would be extremely low.

Jim Mountford

(Round up the heroin and crack addicts. They'll all tell you their first
taste of drugs was pot.)

Copyright (c) 1998, Canoe Limited Partnership.

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)