TIME FOR N.Y. TO OK MARIJUANA USE

Thanks for your coverage of Arizona's new medical marijuana law.

This legislation makes Arizona the 15th state to help the sick and
dying handle their symptoms without having to turn to an illegal
underground market for medicine. Too bad New Yorkers can't make the
same choice.

We now have literally thousands of studies of marijuana's safety and
medical effects. This research documents the plant's ability to
improve the lives of those with chronic pain, HIV, cancer, sleep
problems and a host of other ailments.

The Arizona law requires that patients obtain a physician's
recommendation and register with a state program. The law limits the
number of dispensaries and regulates how much medicine patients can
possess. It also limits the frequency of their purchases. Of course,
every purchase is taxed, providing extra cash for needed programs.

Comparable laws in other states have led to no increases, and
sometimes small decreases, in teen marijuana use.

Surely citizens of New York deserve the same rights as those in
Arizona, Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan,
Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island,
Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

Mitch Earleywine, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology

University at Albany

Albany