MARIJUANA IS A SAFE SUBSTANCE

To the editor:

Marijuana has been one of many controversial issues of the last couple
of decades. I am in high school, so obviously I know a lot of people
who smoke pot. Marijuana is one of the safest drugs on the planet.

How do I know this? About 340,000 people die every year from
tobacco-related products each year. From about 180 to 1,000 people
overdose on aspirin every year. One thousand to 10,000 from the
over-usage of caffeine, creating ulcers and heart problems, and 3,800
to 5,200 people overdose on other illegal drugs each year.

How many people die from overdosing on pot? Zero, according to studies
done by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

You can overdose on alcohol, but you can't on marijuana. If that's the
case, why not make alcohol illegal and legalize pot? So what if it
isn't good for you? Thousands of people drink, and it's not good for
them either.

It is not like anyone is forcing you to smoke weed. If the person
wants to kill his brain cells, that's his choice. People make that
choice every day with alcohol. I don't see what the big debate is about.

Adam Speights,

San Ramon, Calif.