POT IS NOT AN ADDICTIVE DRUG

I wonder when our leaders and other keepers of the public morals are going
to get the idea: Marijuana is not an addictive drug, unless you consider
desire an addiction.

Heroin, tobacco, alcohol, cocaine - these are extremely addictive, and a
couple of them are actually legal. We have all seen the results of those,
especially in cases of overdose.

Marijuana smokers do so by choice, not by force of addiction. Funny thing
is, you can't overdose on marijuana. According to Drug Enforcement
Administration statistics, there has never been a recorded death due to a
marijuana overdose. People are more likely to kill themselves with obesity,
listed by the DEA as the No. 1 overdose killer in the nation.

All this aside, there is one thing that stands out above all. To smoke or
not to smoke marijuana is a personal choice, and the church, the government
and the keepers of the public morals only need to learn one thing about
this subject: Mind your own business.

The fact that marijuana use is on the rise in this country says more about
life here than about addiction. The use of truly addictive drugs is on the
rise across the board. Something as innocuous as pot is nothing compared to
alcoholism. It is merely a symptom of the problems of American society.
I've heard it said that religion is a crutch and an addiction. Do we make
that illegal, too?

Bring back the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Oh,
yes, and that of personal choice. It is mine!

ROBERT L. COOK III, Cottage Grove