THE WRONG DIRECTION

Robert Melamede Delivers a Dangerous Message at a Pivotal Time.

Robert Melamede is a modernday pied piper, his promarijuana message
leading anyone unfortunate enough to follow down a dangerous path.

Melamede ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate on a legalization platform;
touts his propot vision on cable television and the Web; admitted to daily
marijuana use on the witness stand in a friend’s drug trial.

He’s entitled to his view. But the best way to expose the foolishness of
his position is through thoughtful discussion of the hazards of substance
use and abuse.

Melamede’s twisted praise of marijuana comes at a time when most Vermonters
are waging the good fight to end drug and alcohol problems. His position
not only flouts the law, it sends the backward message to impressionable
young people that drug use is acceptable.

Consider the new statistics released late last week: Marijuana use is on
the rebound among Vermont teenagers as young as eighthgraders. Serious
marijuana use puts these youth at risk of respiratory damage, shortterm
memory loss, paranoia, decreased motivation and in extreme cases, psychosis.

Like alcohol, marijuana impairs judgment and motor skills a dangerous
combination, particularly for inexperienced drivers. It can also pave the
way for more serious drug use, including cocaine, LSD and even heroin.

The Vermont Health Department, working with police departments,
communities, schools, parents and teenagers themselves, is working to cut
substance use among people of all ages. That’s the right approach to reduce
human tragedies and the financial costs linked to drug and alcohol use.

Melamede, a researcher at the University of Vermont, should be part of this
effort. Instead, he’s spouting just the opposite theme even blasting the
judicial system that jailed his friend, William Greer, for smuggling more
than 100 tons of hashish into the United States.

"I view them as criminally insane," he said recently of drug prosecutors.
U.S. Attorney Charles Tetzlaff had the right retort Bizarre.

Surely this must concern university officials. After all, UVM is trying to
shed its partyschool image and boost its credibility as an academic
institution. Yet here is a researcher defending drug use while on the
witness stand in a highly publicized trial.

More important, Melamede's diatribes encourage illegal activity. Vermonters
who follow his misguided example could end up with more than just shattered
lives; they might wind up sharing a crowded jail cell.

The better message to all Vermonters is not to use illegal drugs or abuse
alcohol, talk to your children about substance abuse, and find wholesome
activities that teenagers enjoy.

The lesson from the state, communities, parents and even Robert Melamede
must be consistent: Drugs destroy lives.

Just ask Greer.