HEATH LAUGHS AT JACKSON-D'AMBROSI

I had to laugh out loud when reading letter writer Jackson-D'Ambrosi's
insistence that before we allow medical patients legal access to
marijuana that it first meet "the standards for FDA approval that
protect patients."

FDA approved drugs killed more than 100,000 Americans last year, most
of them while being used according to directions. Marijuana on the
other hand has no lethal dosage. FDA-approved drugs include
heavy-duty, addictive narcotics like morphine, codeine, percodan and
OxyContin. They destroy the liver and kidneys and lower the body's
immune system. Marijuana has the addictive potential of caffeine,
meaning that withdrawal symptoms are mild and short-lived.

Most important, though, is whether cancer, AIDS and other serious
medical patients who use marijuana with the recommendation of their
physician should be subject to arrest, prosecution and a jail cage.
Those who continue to block patients' legal access to medical
marijuana obviously believe the answer is yes. But I bet if one of
their friends or family members used pot on the advice of a doctor,
they would be the first to scream about medical rights.

Why wait until that happens? Join us now in ending the arrest of
medical marijuana users.

STEPHEN HEATH

Public Relations Director

Drug Policy Forum of Florida

Clearwater, Fla.