MARIJUANA MISREPRESENTED BY ANSWER GIRL

Dear Editor,

In a recent answer to the question, "What do you think is more dangerous to
individuals and society, smoking marijuana or drinking alcohol," the Answer
Girl gave several good points but also led the reader to believe that
marijuana was the more dangerous of the two, which simply is not true.

Marijuana is not toxic, unlike alcohol. There has never been an "overdose"
on marijuana.

The two are simply not in the same class of drug. It has been proven that
marijuana, unlike alcohol, does not change the basic character of the user.

Many who use alcohol change drastically, and often violently!

I would go to great length to explain, but in the interest of the readership
(and space in your paper) will simply put my analysis into a larger scope.

By placing yourself in the position of being the Answer Girl, you really
should research your answer a little more. I'll explain this point.

In the larger picture, you may not be aware - and thus unable to provide
this information as part of your answer -that there is a small, but growing
group of politically active students who support the repeal of marijuana
prohibition.

Their reasons are as varied as the 70-plus years of proof that marijuana
should never have been made illegal to begin with. This group can be found
in Yahoo Groups under the label "normletsu."

This is a chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws.

Second, the single largest discussion (by volume of users and posts) on the
John Kerry forum web site is the decriminalization of marijuana.

For a real education on this subject, I invite you and your readers to visit
forum.johnkerry.com and look for this topic.

The posts are from a large and diverse group who use their own judgment
rather than allowing themselves to be spoon-fed by the propaganda machine
otherwise known as the ONDCP.

So, please join us there.

You will find that the doctors, lawyers, engineers, educators and others
who've smoked marijuana, many much of their lives, have in most cases become
overachievers and would like nothing more than to see the civil liberties
we've all given up over the War on Drugs (known there as the War on
Americans) returned to their proper place.

Keep up the good work.

John Smith