MOST POTENT MARIJUANA MAY BE THE SAFEST TO USE

Jerome Kellner said marijuana's potency has increased "1,400 percent"
(Letters, Feb. 1). Even U.S. Drug Czar John Walters does not make such
outlandish claims.

Marijuana use is not without risk. However, every study conducted by the
federal government -- from the Nixon administration's Shafer Commission to
the Clinton administration's 1999 study conducted by the Institute of
Medicine -- has shown that marijuana is not nearly as dangerous as the
government would have you believe.

THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, has no known lethal dose and its
addiction is similar to that of coffee. In 1980, the average THC content for
commercial-grade marijuana was roughly 2 percent, and in 2001 it was roughly
4 percent. The potency of high-grade marijuana has increased from an average
of 7 percent in 1985 to roughly 9 percent in 2001.

Considering that THC does not have a lethal dose, and is virtually nontoxic,
it is entirely possible that high-grade marijuana is actually safer (one hit
and quit) than low grade because the users need less to attain the same
effect. Marijuana use should be discouraged, but marijuana arrests should be
stopped.

Mr. Kellner, do yourself and the rest of us a favor -- the next time you
want to accuse someone of "propaganda," take a look in the mirror.

Jason Marrs

Ossining, N.Y.