BENIGHTED U.S. ANTIDRUG LAWS

Thank you for publishing Doug Bandow's outstanding May 16 article, "U.S.
drug laws threaten public health."
(http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?eo20040516db.htm) I'd
like to add that U.S. antimarijuana laws are counterproductive. By keeping
marijuana as a criminalized product, we often expose marijuana users to
sellers of more dangerous drugs such as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine.

Most marijuana users are interested only in marijuana and no other
recreational drugs. However, they are often offered free samples of other,
much more dangerous drugs by marijuana sellers. Thus the "gateway effect"
is caused by marijuana criminalization policies -- not marijuana itself. My
advice to Japan and the rest of the world: Carefully observe U. S. drug
policy, then do the opposite. We're lost.

KIRK MUSE Mesa, Arizona