PHARMACEUTICAL LOBBY SPENDS MILLIONS TO KEEP CANNABIS FROM SENIORS

The idea that 85 percent of marijuana users go on to harder drugs is an
urban myth ("More pot shots about use of marijuana" June 17).

The drug war has been an open door for the government to control all
citizens including those who do not use prohibited substances.

I know some admitted cannabis users besides myself who didn't go on to hard
drugs: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York Gov. George E.
Pataki, Bill Clinton, Gary Johnson, Al Gore, Carl Sagan, Newt Gingrich,
Clarence Thomas, Jesse Ventura, Stephen King, Walt Disney, Mary Tyler
Moore, just to name a few.

Letter-writer Robert Cooper, I am not a member of NORML. I am a member of
AARP and support the legalization of marijuana. The pharmaceutical industry
spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year lobbying to keep cannabis
from their best customers, senior citizens.

Larry Seguin, Lisbon, New York