KEEP MARIJUANA ILLEGAL

Although Justin Guiffre's column ("Put the poor before pot" April 20,
p. 4) on marijuana made some interesting points, it did not address
the deadlier problems that would surround marijuana legalization.
According to a 1994 report in the New England Journal of Medicine
titled "Testing Reckless Drivers for Cocaine and Marijuana," 33
percent of reckless drivers who were tested for drugs were high on marijuana.

Could you imagine what would happen on our roads if marijuana use
became acceptable and legal in this country? Could you imagine how
many more reckless drivers would get behind the wheel high and
endanger their own and other people's life if marijuana became legal?

Additionally, although most major scientific research bodies agree
that there is not yet enough research on the subject to make them
happy, many have sponsored or published reports showing how marijuana
smoking increases the risk for cancer, causes respiratory harm and
otherwise hurts individual health. In a country that is already
dealing with a major health care crisis, why must we add yet another
burden to our nation's health system? When we are trying to scale
back tobacco use for these exact reasons, why must we introduce
another smoked carcinogen to the legal market?

Although I do appreciate finally seeing a column defending the
criminal status of marijuana, I think that it would be better to
focus on the truly deadly effects of marijuana to get the message
across that marijuana legalization would be bad.

Daniel Wessel, Senior