SAD TRUTH ABOUT MARIJUANA USE

Advocates of legalizing the use of marijuana often use "medical" reasons as
their wedge to drive loosening of narcotics laws. The city of Santa Cruz,
Calif., is the latest to take the bait. This week the city held a "medical
marijuana" rally featuring what are by now the usual suspects of such
affairs: People complaining of "chronic pain" curable only by smoking a few
marijuana cigarettes, as well as seriously ill people who naturally tug at
heartstrings.

Ironically, the left coast rally came on the same day as a bit of
much-needed truth-telling about marijuana back in Washington. John Walters,
the Bush administration's drug policy director, held a press conference to
warn Baby Boomer parents that their perceptions of marijuana are
dangerously out of date. Many well-meaning parents believe marijuana is not
addictive, that it's less harmful than tobacco, and that it has few
long-term health consequences.

Those perceptions are exactly what drug pushers would like everyone to
believe. The sad truth, Walters says, is that more teenagers are in
rehabilitation centers for marijuana addiction than for all other alcohol
and drug problems combined.

So much for chuckling off Johnny's experiments with marijuana.

Walters announced that a new anti-drug advertising campaign will focus on
the hard facts about marijuana. Parents should pay close attention. For
here's another uncomfortable fact: In a federal survey, one out of five
eighth-graders reported having tried marijuana.

If you think your child or grandchild isn't one of those, then you might
want to ask. Their future depends on hearing the frank truth.