ANTI-MARIJUANA LETTERS CONTINUES TO FIRE UP REPLIES

Letter-writer Robert Cooper's June 17 letter, "More pot shots about
marijuana," contained numerous misstatements of fact and utterly
ridiculous speculation.

The government has successfully fooled Mr. Cooper about the active
ingredient in marijuana being responsible for alleviating symptoms of
medical users.

He assumes, without a stitch of scientific evidence to back him up,
that the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, THC, is the same drug
responsible for alleviating illness.

That is what the government says and would like him to believe. But
the truth is - nobody knows. The government is afraid to fund
scientific research to look into this because it is afraid it might
find out it's wrong and that it is some other compound in marijuana
smoke that is helping the sick.

There is some evidence that cannabinol - not THC - has therapeutic
benefits. That would explain why so many Marinol users prefer smoking
marijuana.

Further, his intimation that 85 percent of marijuana users commence
using heroin is unsupported by scientific fact such as the National
Household Survey on Drug Abuse.

Mr. Cooper, don't you think there is any validity to the view that if
marijuana was sold at the liquor store instead of by the same guy who
sells heroin, that the rate of marijuana users who do turn to heroin
would go down?

And wouldn't you rather have marijuana smokers paying taxes - or do
you want your property taxes hiked again next year?

Thomas J. Hillgardner, Esq., Jamaica, N.Y.