RE "REBAGLIATI disgraces medal," by Earl McRae (Feb. 14):

I could
spend this entire letter simply slamming Mr. Earl McRae's column about
Ross Rebagliati simply for the cruel manner in which he treated Mr.
Rebagliati's character, lifestyle, and friends. This was, in my honest
opinion, a completely unwarranted, distasteful, and uneducated attack
from an obviously grossly ignorant individual who, by some unknown
manner, seems to have gained access to a major newspaper's printing
presses. But, now on with the real letter to the editor.

Yes, marijuana is safe. How safe, you may ask?

Well, Francis Young, a
DEA judge, said it was very safe. After reviewing the results of an
extensive study done on the effects of marijuana, Mr. Young concluded,
"...marijuana is the safest therapeutically active substance known to
man." Safest known to man. Hmmm, now that's a pretty powerful
statement. That means that cannabis is even safer than aspirin. People
have died from taking aspirin. In the history of mankind, nobody has
ever died from the use of cannabis.

Mr. McRae, your little parable of the "mother to eight-year-old
daughter" made me want to puke. I know plenty of people who smoke pot,
and none of them would do such a thing. This is simply ridiculous.
Marijuana stays in your system for weeks. There's a very good chance
that Mr. Rebagliati didn't even smoke pot any time near the Olympic
games. And even if he did, so what? An adult should be able to do what
he wants as long as he is not depriving any other person of his
rights.

Mr. McRae, I suggest that you brush up on your marijuana information
a bit. I also suggest that you brush up on your manners a lot. You owe
Mr. Rebagliati an apology.

Kevin Cornett
Cynthiana, KY, U.S.