LEGAL OR ILLEGAL, LET'S BE HONEST ABOUT ABUSE

Having just returned from California and Colorado, then reading
"Almost an epidemic" (July 11), about the cannabis caravans in Montana
where physicians go on the road issuing marijuana cards at the rate of
150 a day, this aging hippie is hoping Minnesota does not join in the
medical-marijuana mirage.

As a cancer survivor, I had thought that medical marijuana was a good
idea. I may yet be one of those who could legitimately use it for
medical reasons. But if it were really a medical drug, I should be
able to have my prescription filled at my normal pharmacy. Instead,
what I saw in California and Colorado were seedy shops with
hand-painted signs as subtle as "Dr. Reefer." Some storefronts shared
billboard space with their recommended source of a doctor willing to
issue a quick prescription for any type of pain -- sometimes by webcam.

If we want to legitimize marijuana, let's be honest and call it what
it is: legalization of a recreational drug. If that is what
Minnesotans want, fine. Sell the product in regulated liquor stores
and collect appropriate taxes. But please, let's avoid the sleaze and
hypocrisy that is rampant with medical marijuana.

ROCHELLE EASTMAN, SAVAGE