Ask Them

To the editor:

Tony Batt's Aug. 31 article, "Young Nevadans using marijuana," should
be read carefully by grandparents.

Grandparents don't need a Ph.D to tell them what happened to marijuana
use in the '60s and '70s. They watched as marijuana use started in a
few colleges, led by professors Norman Zinberg and Timothy Leary, and
spread rapidly to high school students and currently to junior high
schools.

They watched as pro-drug groups such as the National Organization for
the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) led the march through 11 state
legislatures pressuring uninformed and understaffed lawmakers to
decriminalize marijuana. Keith Stroup, founder of NORML is considered
by parents to be the "Father of the Marijuana Epidemic in America."

Billy Rogers who is leading the legalization effort in Nevada is on
loan from the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, another
part of the legalizing network.

Don't let them fool you or your grandchildren. Grandparents watched as
marijuana use reached its highest levels because kids interpreted
"decriminalization" as a message that marijuana use is OK. Kids began
dropping out of school, becoming alienated from family and involved in
crimes to support their drug use. For those who don't believe
legalizing three ounces of marijuana will harm Nevada's children, ask
your grandparents.

And for grandparents: Don't just watch. Get out of those rocking
chairs and go rock the vote. You can protect your grandchildren. You
remember what America was like before drugs became widespread. You
likely remember a time when locking your doors was not necessary. Send
the legalizers packing.

JOYCE NALEPKA

SILVER SPRING, MD.

The writer is president of Drug-Free Kids. and was president of Nancy
Reagan's National Federation of Parents.