THE REAL DEAL ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

To Whom it May Concern:

This letter regards the article "Medical marijuana bill faces hazy
Outlook" by Kerry Miller ("This just in," News, February 27).

In the the article, Miller writes that the only groups supporting the
Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Marijuana Act are the local chapter of
the ACLU and the Brown and URI chapters of Students for Sensible Drug
Policy. Miller ends the article with "College students for pot? Who
would have guessed?"

Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) is not in existence to
legalize marijuana so college students can smoke it. If Miller had
taken the time to read the SSDP mission statement (www.ssdp.org), this
truth would have been discovered. SSDP is committed to providing
education on harms caused by the war on drugs, working to involve
youth in the political process, and promoting an open, honest, and
rational discussion of alternatives to our nation's drug problems. We
represent the DARE generation - the kids who grew up with zero
tolerance, drug dogs, and police raids of our schools, and the massive
expansion of the war on drugs. We're older now, and we're not going
to stay silent.

Also, a recent CNN/Time poll found that 80% of Americans support
medical marijuana
(http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/pressroom/pressrelease/pr102902.cfm).

So perhaps more than the local ACLU and SSDP chapter support this
bill. It's highly probable that many of your readers support medical
marijuana.

The URI and Brown chapters of SSDP do not support medical marijuana so
they can smoke it. They support it because they have a natural sense
of human compassion and decency. That and the fact that the mother of
one of our URI SSDP members suffers from multiple sclerosis, and
medical marijuana can help to alleviate a small part of her pain and
suffering.

I urge Kerry Miller to take a much closer look at medical marijuana,
the people who support it, and why the support it. Journalists have a
moral obligation to do as much research as possible before reporting
to the public. This is the first report of Miller's that I have read,
and I will have a difficult time taking any of Miller's future reports
seriously.

Sincerely,

Melissa Milam

Media Director

Students for Sensible Drug Policy

Washington, DC