MARIJUANA IS LEGITIMATE, EFFECTIVE MEDICINE

If Arthur T. Dean agrees that "medical questions are best determined
by science" ("Balanced media needed in medical marijuana debate,"
Dec. 16), he should take heed of the small mountain of peer-reviewed
scientific research that has shown medical marijuana to be a safe and
effective treatment for a wide range of conditions, including cancer,
HIV/AIDS and multiple sclerosis.

Such research has resulted in scores of esteemed health organizations
- -- including the American College of Physicians, American Public
Health Association, American Nurses Association, American Academy of
HIV Medicine and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society -- officially
recognizing that marijuana has legitimate medical value.

And if Mr. Dean is worried about the number of teenagers using
marijuana, he might consider why teen use of alcohol and tobacco have
declined in recent years while teen use of marijuana has not.

The reason, of course, is that alcohol and tobacco are taxed,
regulated and controlled, and their sale to underage customers
results in harsh penalties for vendors.

Marijuana, on the other hand, is completely unregulated and easily
accessible to teenagers for the simple reason that drug dealers do
not check IDs.

Indeed, for the past 30 years, more than 80 percent of teenagers have
told government surveys that marijuana is "easy to get."

If Mr. Dean wants it to be harder for teenagers to purchase and use
marijuana, he should support laws that would tax and regulate
marijuana like alcohol.

One additional clarification: Mr. Dean was incorrect when he said new
Department of Justice guidelines applied only to states that have
passed medical marijuana laws through ballot initiatives.

Four of the 13 states that have passed medical marijuana laws have
done so through their state legislatures, including Rhode Island,
where a gubernatorial veto was overridden by a 68-0 vote in the House
and a 35-3 vote in the Senate.

Mike Meno

Marijuana Policy Project