Alan Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse,
is the scientific ass of the year for reasserting Harry
Anslinger's Reefer Madness claim that marijuana leads to
addictive drug use. (Pot studies examine 'gateway' drug claims,
June 27, main news). The Scripps and the Spanish studies prove
the exact opposite of Leshner's "gateway" conclusions.

In order to produce a so-called withdrawal effect, researchers
had to inject lab rats with RU-210 for a cou-ple of weeks and
then inject them with SR 141716A, which artificially shuts down
the THC receptors. Without injecting SR 141716A, there would be
no "withdrawal." The last I heard, there weren't any marijuana
users around shooting up with RU-210 for days at a time and then
using SR 141716A to induce a sudden cold turkey "withdrawal."
Therefore, this curious discovery only applies in a laboratory setting.

The obvious implication of this study is exactly opposite to Leshner's
claims because without an artificial shutdown of the THC receptor
system, there would be no withdrawal and no inclination toward addiction.

Normally, the THC receptor system functions perfectly, preventing
any of the effects that appear when SR 141716A is injected. Since
the THC receptor system typically disposes of cannabis compounds
harmlessly and prevents withdrawal in real world conditions,
Leshner's assertions are absurd.

The natural situation protects against any withdrawal, hangover,
cold turkey or "gateway" effects.

The well known fact that over 50 million marijuana smokers have
never moved on to cocaine or heroin clearly disproves Leshner's
Reefer Madness propaganda about cannabis being a gateway drug.

Robin Givens
San Francisco