MARIJUANA A GATEWAY DRUG

The Times' decision to endorse legal sale of pot is disappointing. As
a younger lawyer, when attending the Superior Court juvenile
commitment calendar, with young teens babbling gibberish from having
baked their brains on hard drugs and with weeping parents present, the
commitment judge or commissioner always asked if they started on pot.
My recollection is that 100 percent of the parents, and what few teens
had any cognitive abilities left, answered yes.

Although I felt that anybody who smoked anything might well also be
committed, it sure appeared to be a gateway drug. While perhaps an
admittedly anecdotal personal experience with such circumstantial
evidence, one recalls Mark Twain's summary of circumstantial evidence:
Twain conceded he did not see the man bite the ear off, but he sure
saw him spit it out.

Did the Times thoroughly consult professionals in this
field?

Don Gulliford

Mercer Island