MARIJUANA OPPONENTS SUFFER FROM HYSTERIA

Jerome Kellner ("Pakalolo is dangerous and should be illegal," Letters, June
3) and other drug warriors suffer from a disease called "reefer madness."

It's a destructive disease. Sufferers are deluded into thinking that keeping
marijuana illegal and jailing the users of the herb will make our society
safe.

Having lived in Hawaii from 1991-1998, I saw the crystal methamphetamine, or
"ice," epidemic escalate, while our fearless drug warriors were destroying
and poisoning the marijuana crop.

I'll be traveling to the Netherlands for about a week to get away from the
United States' drug warriors. You see, in Amsterdam, the people don't suffer
from reefer madness. One can buy marijuana and hashish safely in the coffee
shops.

Lo and behold, their teen drug use is only half that of U.S. teens, and I
can walk the streets of Amsterdam safely after midnight, unlike major
American cities like Honolulu.

I hope that people who are afflicted with reefer madness get the help they
need. They are truly destroying America with their drug-warrior hysteria.

Sean Porter

New Orleans, La. Former Hawaii resident