REAGAN HARMED BY 'JUST SAY NO'

Regarding your editorial of June 27, "Get politics out of stem cell
debates," it seems rather ironic that the "just say no" policies of
Nancy Reagan and the Reagan administration in the end harmed Ronald
Reagan.

It was Reagan's administration that set the tone for banning stem cell
research by all but banning research into medical marijuana, as well
as rendering therapeutic cannabis laws passed by over 30 states
including Wisconsin symbolic, by refusing to supply these programs
with government pot.

In recent years, marijuana has shown great promise as a treatment for
agitation resulting from Alzheimer's, and studies have shown that
Marinol, synthetic THC, the most psychoactive component in whole
marijuana, is useful for that purpose.

Had the Reagan administration taken a different course, we might today
be reaping the benefits of unlocking the great medicinal potential of
cannabinoids as well as of stem cells.

Instead, Reagan and his family, along with millions of other American
families affected by Alzheimer's, have had to watch loved ones decline
and know that no treatments exist that could ease that suffering.
That, too, is part of Ronald Reagan's legacy.

GARY STORCK

Madison