MEDICAL MARIJUANA CLINICS ARE MOSTLY DRUG DEALERS

The vast majority of Californians are naive about marijuana use. In
reality, there's no need to legalize it. With a little effort and
about $50, anyone­and I mean anyone ­can legally purchase and use marijuana.

The proponents of Proposition 215 hoodwinked the voters by basing the
proposition on legalizing its use by people who had a real medical
justification. Examples included AIDS, cancer, appetite problems,
genuine chronic pain, etc. I completely support its use in such instances.

What the proposition really did, however, was to make marijuana
available to anyone who wants it.

You just have to know how the game is played. First, you locate one
of the hordes of doctors who specialize in writing marijuana
recommendation letters.

Some of these have advertised in the Acorn . They're either too lazy
or too greedy to have an ethical medical practice.

You contact the doctor (sometimes a physical appearance isn't even
required) and say some magic words, which is usually some complaint
about chronic pain (which can't be measured clinically). The doctor
will nod and provide you with a letter recommending marijuana use.

That will be $50 please.

Under California law, you now have all you need to legally purchase
and use marijuana.

Most medical marijuana clinics aren't "rogue operations" as the Acorn
states. Most are "pot supermarkets" and a source of easy money.

They offer a spectrum of pot, some of which is so potent that it
makes 1960s hippie lettuce look like near beer. They also offer pot
edibles like cakes, brownies, lollipops, beverages, etc.

Is this what the voters intended when Prop. 215 was passed?

I'm a longtime member of the local Nar-Anon chapter, a support group
for families of drug addicts. It meets every Thursday night at Temple
Adat Elohim on Hillcrest. The vast majority of members report that
their addict's first "drug use" was pot.

"Pot is harmless" is delusional. Like "harmless" alcohol, some people
develop a serious addiction. Misguided voters have made it simple for
our young people to screw up their lives with pot.

Let's not further compound this mistake.

Mark Wallis

Thousand Oaks