ANTI-POT LAWS ARE DESTROYING LIVES

In a July 19 letter to The Herald-Dispatch titled "With Drug Trade, Too
Many Look Other Way," the writer ironically touches on the absurdity of
laws that have resulted in thousands of deaths and millions of
incarcerations, yet calls the comparison of the drug war to the Holocaust
absurd.

For the record, many millions of Americans die each decade from the use of
legal alternatives to marijuana. At any given time, more than 2 million are
behind bars for drugs, their lives destroyed, businesses ruined and
possessions confiscated, all because our "leaders" look the other way.

The active, nontoxic ingredients in marijuana have been shown to
effectively ameliorate pain, reduce nausea and combat stress with fewer
side effects than those caused by deadly, defective yet approved
medications and intoxicants.

Fifteen of the top donors listed on the Partnership for a Drug-Free America
Web site are pharmaceutical interests, yet this self evident truth
consistently remains undisclosed in newspaper editorials and public service
announcements.

Since nearly 100 million citizens admit to having used pot, exactly who is
looking the other way?

Absurd, indeed.

Jose Melendez

DeLand, Fla