POT AND ALCOHOL NOT WHAT MU STUDENTS SHOULD STUDY

Editor, the Tribune:

As the parent of a University of Missouri-Columbia student, the prospect of
relaxing Columbia's marijuana laws gives me great concern. Marijuana is not
the innocuous weed that its proponents would like us to think it is. It is
known as a "gateway" drug, often leading to the use of other, even more
dangerous, substances.

Also, campus pot aficionados, like others across the country seeking to
weaken marijuana laws, would like to slide this penalty-reducing ordinance
through on the back of purported medical benefits gained by those who might
use the drug for pain relief.

If marijuana truly has medical benefits, let's subject it to a thorough
series of double blind clinical trials and seek Food and Drug Administration
approval - just like any other legitimate therapeutic compound. If it has
proven benefits, find a manufacturer to produce and market it, and the world
will be a better place.

While we're talking about substance abuse, let's toughen up the drinking
restrictions on Columbia's "dry" campus. On any given weekend, and probably
throughout the week as well, the beer taps are flowing and the pop-tops are
popping as the local beer distribution moguls gleefully sit in their
counting houses.

A university campus should be a place where serious scholarship and
preparation for life take place. Instead, it becomes a place where some of
our young people learn to imbibe and - in certain cases - toke up. Campus
officials need to speak clearly to these issues and make our
taxpayer-supported campuses safe learning environments.