FOOD -- NOT ALCOHOL OR DRUGS -- IS WHAT KILLS MOST AMERICANS

I agree with Douglas Young (Forum, Sept. 14). Marijuana should be
legalized, for all the reasons he mentions, and because it isn't any of the
government's business how someone wrecks his life. But using phony-baloney
statistics will not help win his case. ''Half of U.S. hospital beds are
filled with people with alcohol-related problems.'' I don't think so. I've
been a registered nurse for six years. Alcohol causes a lot of problems,
but ''half'' of hospital admissions? It just ain't so. If you want to make
my job easier, outlaw french fries and high fructose corn syrup. America's
addiction to food is really what's killing us. I know it's what's killing me.

Bryan James