GOV. JOHNSON RIGHT ON LEGALIZING MARIJUANA

Editor:

Gov. Gary Johnson is correct marijuana should be relegalized.

That is the obvious first step toward a drug policy that works. Reader
Charles R. Beeson distorts the facts by insinuating that marijuana leads to
harder drugs and that marijuana caused two of his grandchildren and "a
dentist's son to destroy their careers early in life. Marijuana has been
proved to not be a gateway drug, and by blaming marijuana as opposed to
addressing the cause of its use, he did a great disservice to his
grandchildren and the dentist's son.

He then claims the AMA report "again shows the long-term defects in
performance and decreased cognitive ability in a controlled study, but
fails to mention that performance returns with abstinence. Considering he
incorrectly referred to the active ingredient in marijuana,
"tetrahydrocannabinol as being "tetrahydrocannibis, I am not surprised by
his misunderstanding of the facts.

Even if marijuana were all of the things that the drug warriors would
wrongly have you believe that it is, its current legal status would still
not be justified. In fact, every study that the White House has ordered
since the Nixon administration has said as much, only to have the White
House continue to cover up the truth.

Jason Marrs, Former Carlsbad resident via e-mail