ARTICLE OVERSTATES MARIJUANA THREAT

I could not believe Florida Today actually printed the recent
Associated Press article headlined "Excessive pot-smoking, body fat
hurt male fertility."

The "pot-smoking causes infertility" myth has been debunked time and
time again, yet journalists persist in giving ink to bad science. The
author admits it was two "small" studies and even suggests two
marijuana cigarettes a day was used to indicate "heavy use."

P. Cushman's study headlined "Plasma testosterone levels in healthy
male marijuana smokers," published in the American Journal of Drug and
Alcohol Abuse in 1975, and a follow-up study published in Drug and
Alcohol Dependence in 1991 debunk this myth.

According to the book "Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts" by Dr. John
Morgan and Lynn Zimmer, in one of these studies men spent 30 days in a
closed lab smoking 20 marijuana cigarettes a day. This study found
some decrease in sperm concentration and mobility, but none of the
subjects tested outside the normal range and the slight differences
were reversed after the experiment ended.

There are plenty of real dangers associated with taking any drug or
herbal supplement. The public deserves to hear the truth about these
substances, not myths designed to scare those ignorant about the subject.

Jodi James McKinney

Executive Director Florida Cannabis Action Network, Melbourne