HONESTY DEFICIT FOUND IN UPTON POSITION

When it comes to honesty about marijuana or the federal budget he
continually approves, U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, appears,
once again, to stand for continued deficits.

Martin Chilcutt's July 4 Viewpoint, "U.S. needs to legalize medical
marijuana," showed that Upton had an honesty deficit when he parroted
the recent Food and Drug Administration stance on marijuana.

The same FDA which gave Upton his talking points against marijuana
also approved Vioxx, which resulted in thousands of deaths. Is it
another honesty deficit that prevented Upton from speaking out while
people died from an FDA-approved drug?

Also not mentioned by Upton was the Sept. 6, 1988, ruling by the Drug
Enforcement Administration's administrative law judge, Francis Young,
in which he stated: "Marijuana in its natural form is one of the
safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure
of rational analysis, marijuana can be safely used within the
supervised routine of medical care."

Voters, please remember both Upton's honesty deficits and his budget
deficits when you enter the voting booth this November.

Bob Heflin

Williamsburg, Mich.