A DIFFERENT LEAF

Mr. Beck's Aug. 12 article "Waiting to Inhale" is an artful portrait of
deception. As chronicled in the Record, I have followed Mr. Epstein's
sinister campaign now for some time. I would have little concern for the
radical and dangerous social experiment he proposes if it weren't for the
fact that a lot of other people seem to be swallowing the propaganda he's
been preaching, most alarmingly some law enforcement officials and a few
air-headed politicians who seem to have no mind of their own (Rep. Doug
Peterson of Marblehead has no opinion on the matter - how sophisticated).

The arguments that Mr. Epstein and his ilk present are the same ones that
were spun by the misguided intellectual elite where I went to college, all
whilst many of my friends turned into potheads, some ultimately moving on
to harder drugs.

I witnessed many lives ruined and a lot of people hurt during that period
of my life. How much worse it would have been if possession hadn't been a
criminal offense.

Like other pro-pot advocates, Mr. Epstein invokes the reasoning of a fool
that reminds me of the lowering of the drinking age to 18 back in the
'70s, hailed at the time as great "social progress" by the liberals on
Beacon Hill. Only after teen traffic accidents and DUI arrests skyrocketed
did the citizenry come to its senses.

A lot of kids paid a terrible price for the temporary insanity of the ones
who were supposed to be looking after them. The public needs to wake up
and do their homework.

Marijuana is a dangerous drug and should never be decriminalized. Mr.
Epstein pompously claims that that marijuana never killed anyone.

Tell that to the families of victims of a 1987 train crash in Maryland
that claimed 17 lives.

The engineer who was high on pot drove through four warning signals.

In 1995, according to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, there were more than
47,100 marijuana-related admissions into hospital emergency rooms.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, in 1996 there
were more than 196,000 admissions of people into drug treatment programs
who stated that marijuana was their primary drug of addiction.
According to a major study of motor vehicle collision victims in a
regional Trauma Unit in Toronto, marijuana was the most commonly found
drug in impaired drivers other than alcohol.

Marijuana is worse for the lungs than tobacco with nearly five times more
carbon monoxide and three times as much tar. Marijuana smoke contains 50
percent more cancer-causing materials than tobacco smoke and has been
linked to both pre-cancerous growths and to cancer.

Research has also long implicated cannabis as an exacerbating factor in
mental illness. In spite of the compelling evidence that debunks Mr.
Epstein's assertions, he wants to put marijuana use in the same category
as a traffic violation. Decriminalization and legalization is virtually the
same thing.

How many times have you exceeded the speed limit without so much as a
warning? Decriminalization of marijuana will open a floodgate of use
particularly among young people. Growing cannabis will be the new "in
thing" and selling pot will go from a back alley transaction to a
commercial boon that will only benefit the sleaziest segment of humanity.

And if you think an already overtaxed police force is going to scramble
around arresting people for misdemeanors you are from another planet.

Perhaps the most outrageous contentions that Mr. Epstein makes, echoed by
the pitifully naive BU professor Jeffrey Miron, are the predicted economic
benefits should pot become legal.

Conveniently omitted from their argument is the cost of rehab for a whole
new generation of smokers, to say nothing of lost productivity, destroyed
families and an increase in crime, accidents and highway fatalities. And
of course those involved with the cannabis trade are gleefully going to
pay taxes.

Right, and the earth is really flat. Another equally bogus argument
that needs to be refuted is the need for medical use of marijuana.
Responsible physicians will tell you that there are much more effective
alternatives for pain relief.

In bringing my son up I face a host of bad influences to battle with and I
don't need one more demon let loose just to satisfy the indulgence of some
leftover hippies from the '60s. Mr. Epstein needs to be sent a strong
message by this community - our kids' safety is more important than Mr.
Insuik's right to light up a joint on the subway.

And our elected officials need to be put on notice that we will not be
persuaded by misinformation that Mass Cann and their disciples are
disseminating. We have enough problems to deal with without battling this one.

It is heartwarming to read in the paper every week about the sacrifices
that so many individuals make in serving this community - coaching a team,
helping the sick, mentoring to troubled kids, refurbishing historical
buildings, adopting orphans from foreign countries.

When Mr. Epstein and his narcissistic crusaders take their last dying
breath, should they succeed in advancing their evil agenda, they'll be
able to say, "I made it easier for kids to get high and tune out." What a
disgraceful legacy to leave behind.

Let's keep those "waiting to inhale" waiting - indefinitely.

Richard Collins