REALITY IN ALTERED STATE

Regarding "What doctors say about marijuana" (Insight, Aug. 22):

The fact that the high-profile initiative, Proposition 19, will be
appearing on our November ballot in order to legalize the sale of
marijuana shows our state's shifting views on drug policies.

Although I completely agree that people should be more informed on
marijuana's health effects on people, I believe there are a lot of
misconceptions regarding marijuana.

I think we need to compare the addiction rates with those of
substances that are already legal in California: cigarettes, alcohol
and even caffeine. I think these results alone would validate that a
fundamental hypocrisy lies at the heart of the outright ban on marijuana.

Yes, we need to be cautious and have treatment options before
legalizing another potentially addicting drug in our state, but we
need to be realistic at the same time. Prohibition is not working.
Let's regulate, tax and educate instead.

Megan Quan, San Diego