PROHIBITION DOES MORE HARM THAN GOOD

New Jersey Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini, R-Monmouth, makes a good
case against using medicinal marijuana based on its pros and cons
(Times guest opinion, "Medical marijuana: Opening Pandora's box?"
Jan. 20). When that was done against alcohol in the 1910s and early
1920s, the conclusion was Prohibition.

When we finally held a conversation about the pros and cons of
Prohibition, in the early 1930s, we decided that it caused more
overall societal damage than alcohol. We ended alcohol Prohibition in
1933 because of its unintended consequences, not because alcohol was
safe and effective. Now we need that conversation about marijuana prohibition.

- -- JOHN CHASE, Palm Harbor, Fla.