DON'T CONFUSE POT USE WITH ABUSE

I don't know exactly where I stand on the legalization of marijuana,
so I eagerly read "Think about this before legalizing pot (Fence
Post, May 17) with the idea that it would clarify my thoughts.
Instead, I ended up a bit confused.

Mr. Yohn describes marijuana users as people who are unproductive and
sickly, who are at greater risk for mental illness, who will likely
become violent and steal, and who pollute the rest of their
environment and our children with secondhand "intoxicating" smoke.

It seems to me that there are many people out there who use alcohol
to the point that it affects their job performance and causes them to
call in sick. There are also mentally ill people out there that can
become addicted to any variety of substances - but the substance
doesn't necessarily cause the illness, nor does it cause people to
steal and become violent. As for exposure to secondhand smoke, I fail
to see the logic here. Cigarette smoking has been banned in most
public facilities. I would expect that, should pot smoking become
legal, the smoking ban would still apply so any concerns about
additional smoke exposure are invalid.

There will be people who will abuse marijuana, but there are people
now who abuse alcohol and people who ruin their health with
cigarettes, and I don't see any federal plan to make these illegal.
Most people who are casual, social drinkers are responsible. It is
quite possible that there are responsible, casual users of marijuana as well.

I'm still not entirely sure where I stand on the legalization issue,
but it's wrong to make sweeping generalizations about all pot
smokers. Let's not confuse use with abuse.

Laura Miller

Carpentersville