WHY BAN USEFUL DRUGS?

I agree with Efficacy President Clifford Thornton Jr.'s assessment in "Drug
Problem Requires New Approach" [letter, Aug. 17]. What kind of message are
we sending to children when harmful drugs such as tobacco and alcohol are
legal, and marijuana (which can be used as a medicine) is not? Tobacco is
highly addictive and causes more than 400,000 deaths per year. Pot is
non-addictive and kills no one.

I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease in February 2000. I used cannabis to
control the nausea that followed chemotherapy treatments. The cancer is now
gone, and I am in the best shape of my life. I get upset when it's said
that marijuana has no medical benefits.

Proper nutrition is extremely important to patients during chemotherapy,
and the pot given to me by a true friend stimulated my appetite. I was
given other pharmaceutical drugs to help my nausea, but they were expensive
and ineffective. You've heard of the munchies? After smoking pot, I was
excited to prepare, cook and eat good foods, and it kept me from vomiting.
Perhaps I didn't have to use pot to get better, but it certainly helped my
recovery.

My friend and I risked going to jail for this. And if any of my friends or
family ever need pot as a medicine, I will consider supplying them, even if
I have to get it from a dangerous drug dealer and risk being arrested or shot.

Although I have heard government propaganda my whole life that marijuana is
an evil poison, I know that it is a natural remedy that was used for
thousands of years before our failed war on drugs.

Ultimately, the decision of what medicine is best for an illness should be
left up to the patient and the doctor - not the government.

Too many people already suffer unnecessarily because of the misguided drug war.

Kevin J. Michaud

East Hartford