ANOTHER OPINION ON DEBATE OVER MEDICAL MARIJUANA

To the editor:

Regarding the reply of Altoona Police Chief John L. Gray to Carl Olsen
(Altoona Herald Dec. 11), Chief Gray demonstrates what I have seen untold
times in my position as Executive Director of a national news gathering
service on drug policy issues. Gray, like countless community leaders,
politicians and others in positions of power, are either being deliberately
disingenuous or are mind bogglingly uninformed on the subjects of drugs,
drug use and drug policy.

I was stunned that a police chief would publish a letter referring to the
defeat of a New York medical marijuana initiative. Not only were most of
his statements based on typical but wildly inaccurate "facts," but he
couldn't even get the right state or even side of the country correct (It
was actually in the state of Washington). In addition, he misnamed and
mispelled NORML (The National Association for the Reform of Marijuana Laws)
as NORMAL and had inaccuracies in virtually every sentence of his letter.

The good police chief is most welcome to visit our web page at
http://www.mapinc.org and use it as a resource for future fact checking.
Nothing will help end this expensive, failed, misguided, "war on drugs"
quicker than educating those in power as to the facts, science, and truth
which belie the inaccurate rhetoric we are so often forced to endure.

Mark Greer,

Porterville, Calif.