STUDIES SUPPORT DIFFERENT CONCLUSIONS ABOUT POT

Contrary to Jerome Kellner's beliefs (Letters, Feb. 1), The Maui News
provides a valuable service to the community by allowing unpopular or
underreported viewpoints to be heard. His letter contains false
generalizations, and I would like to clarify these.

First, when Robert Sharpe referred to marijuana as relatively harmless, he
was right. No one has ever died from a marijuana overdose, which cannot be
said for alcohol, heroin, cocaine or meth.

Second, 14 times as strong? Even at the Drug Enforcement Agency's Web site
figures indicate marijuana is anywhere from 1.5 to 4 times as strong.

A comprehensive study performed by the Institute of Medicine reports
marijuana withdrawal is "mild and subtle compared with the profound physical
syndrome of alcohol or heroin withdrawal," and "compared to most other drugs
listed in this table (tobacco, alcohol, heroin, cocaine), dependence among
marijuana users is relatively rare."

Marcus Roux

State College, Pa.