MANY MIXED MESSAGES ABOUT MARIJUANA USE

This is in response to the Dec. 16 letter, "Mayor's drug attitude
sends wrong message," concerning Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio's
policies on marijuana use.

Our government, backed by the DuPont Paper Company, engaged in a
campaign of misinformation and blatant lies in the 1920s to sway
public opinion towards marijuana prohibition. We were told smoking it
makes people violent, causes massive surges in crime, and is a
gateway to harder, more harmful drugs.

Not only is all of this untrue, the gateway theory has been
thoroughly disproved. The crime associated with marijuana use is a
direct result of it being illegal, and users being forced to obtain
it on the black market. I am not saying, however, that using
marijuana will not cause you to use other drugs. But, in the grand
scheme, alcohol and tobacco are infinitely more dangerous and harmful
than marijuana, and cause tens of thousands of deaths a year, while
marijuana use has never been solely attributed to a single death.

If marijuana is to remain illegal in this country, then alcohol and
tobacco should be placed in the Schedule I drug category with
marijuana. Where are all the letters about the multitude of DWIs and
the prevalence, especially in Connecticut, of underage binge drinking?

Joshua Benson
Waterford