POT NOT CURE-ALL FOR OUR ILLS

Dr. Robert Melamede is not a physician but a teacher at UCCS who has
an agenda to make his own illegal actions legal by playing on sympathy
for the suffering of veterans ("Vets deserve choice in meds,"
Letters, March 23). His own Web site makes
his agenda clearly evident. He states "we all know that cannabis is
great" and then admits to "43 years of cannabis consumption." He calls
those who have chosen to abstain from illegal drugs "more primitive,
cannabinoid deficient people who are backward looking people."

He goes on to explain that the future of mankind is somehow dependent
upon an increase in marijuana use. He then suggests that cannabis
prevents or cures many diseases, or prevents suffering due to pain,
when in fact no such evidence exists.

There is little doubt, except to those who wish to twist the facts for
their own use, that marijuana is a substance that causes great harm.
As a physician who works with adolescents who have had their lives
destroyed by its use I can attest to the dangers of marijuana. It is a
gateway drug for harder drugs, just ask the drug addicts on the
streets. It causes lack of motivation, loss of memory, impaired
judgment, increased reaction time.

This causes poor school performance, impaired work performance, and
increased risk of accidents especially while driving. It increases the
risk of depression and psychosis in susceptible individuals. It causes
a risk of cancer greater than from tobacco. It does not cure any
condition and does not help most other conditions for which it is
"medically" used any better than other legal medications.

Melamede should gets his facts straight. Maybe he should be more open
about his agenda to legalize marijuana. I find his approach misleading
and unethical.

George Athey, M.D., Colorado Springs