MARIJUANA LAWS HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT

MADISON - I wonder what substance David Lee Gauthier might be indulging in
after reading his erroneous conclusions in his June 13 Forum letter,
"Relaxing drug laws is stupid."

Gauthier's claim that tobacco impairs memory is suspect and no link to
cancer from smoking marijuana has ever been proven. Marijuana is much safer
than tobacco.

Regarding the medicinal use of marijuana, unlike most over-the-counter and
prescription drugs, it has no lethal dose. Some people are allergic to or
intolerant of most prescription drugs used for pain relief. Should these
people suffer needlessly to send a message to children? Children can tell
the difference between substance abuse and medical use. Marijuana use among
youth actually declined after California passed its medical marijuana law
in 1996.

While most Western nations have stopped arresting pot smokers, the United
States is headed in the opposite direction, with over 700,000 arrested
annually.

Marijuana prohibition is a counterproductive, harmful fraud. These laws are
doomed. The sooner they end, the better for taxpayers funding this barbaric
monstrosity, and for society, which bears the brunt of its negative effects.

Gary Storck, Wisconsin NORML steering committee