Another Opinion On Debate Over Medical Marijuana
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, CA