Editor -- ``Reefer madness'' must stop. Dangerous untrue marijuana
propaganda continues. It causes pot users to go on to more dangerous drugs.

Example: ABC's Prime Time Live, March 19: ``One to three marijuana joints a
day produces lung damage equivalent to smoking five times as many
cigarettes.'' ``Smoking pot causes genetic changes in cells that line the
lungs that can lead to cancer.'' ``Marijuana is capable of causing physical
addiction.'' ``Marijuana is a gateway drug. Kids who use pot are 65 to 85
times more likely to use cocaine or other addictive substances.'' Not one
of those statements have ever been proven. Yet the lies continue. The
material came from the Partnership for a Drug Free America.

I knew a young man who was frightened off of pot from untrue propaganda. He
tried heroin and died from an overdose.

``Pot phobia'' must stop. No one has ever died from marijuana. 500,000
Americans die annually from tobacco and alcohol.

DAVID R. FORD
Sonoma