VIAGRA'S ALREADY KILLED MORE THAN MARIJUANA

Dear Editor, Please consider publishing the following brief letter:

Tom Boyd's tongue-in-cheek Dec. 6th column underscored the hypocrisy of the
war on some drugs. The goal of a "drug-free" America that so many
politicians claim to be working towards applies only to certain drugs.
Specifically, natural drugs that cannot be patented by the pharmaceutical
industry, one of Washington's most powerful lobbies.

New lifestyle drugs are routinely granted approval by the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration, while marijuana, which has a history of documented
medical use that dates back thousands of years, allegedly requires further
research. Despite a relatively brief period on the market, the blatantly
recreational drug Viagra has already killed more people than marijuana, a
relatively harmless plant that has never been shown to cause an overdose death.

By raiding California's voter-approved medical marijuana clubs, the very
same federal government that claims illicit drug use funds terrorism is
forcing cancer and AIDS patients into the hands of street dealers.
Meanwhile, children as young as 2-years-old are routinely prescribed
Ritalin, a prescription amphetamine similar to cocaine in effects. So much
for protecting the children from drugs. One need only follow the money
trail to find out why a given policy exists.

Please feel free to edit and publish. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely, Robert Sharpe,

M.P.A. Program Officer Drug Policy Alliance http://www.drugpolicy.org/