DRUG WAR HAS GONE TOO FAR

The Wo/men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) was raided on Sept. 5 at
7 a.m. The drug war has truly gone too far this time. President mini-me is
perpetuating the federal closed-minded approach on natural medicine, his
newly appointed drug czar could have easily been taken straight out of the
1950s. The U.S. government is supposedly the most advanced on the planet,
yet they don't possess the power to comprehend the real effects of
marijuana and determine laws accordingly. How can a government of people
say that a plant can't grow? They stand to lose billions in property
seizures if marijuana is completely legalized in the U.S.

On the medicinal side, the 283 people who belong to the Wo/mens Alliance
for Medical Marijuana, 80 percent of whom are terminally ill, are now
without medicine. Why? Talk about human rights. ... What if you were
severely injured in a hospital and the doctor was about to give you
morphine for your pain and - boom - the door's down and the DEA Third Reich
stick automatic military rifles in your face and take away your IV. Sounds
inhumane and impossible, but the DEA raided probably the most credible,
focused and successful medical marijuana club in existence, leaving the
patients with no relief from their ailments. It's just wrong.

Marijuana has a great many positive effects for many different types of
people. For instance, I have known many people who have been diagnosed with
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and have abandoned their
cocaine-like Ritalin or Aderall pills for a bag of pot. I don't really see
a problem with that if a person can't sit still and concentrate.

Bryan Arthur

Santa Cruz