RESEARCH, STATISTICS IN DRUG WAR DON'T LIE

Editor:

On Aug. 4 Kathleen Parker of The Orlando Sentinel stated,"...dollar for
dollar, the billions we funnel into this 'war' would be better spent on
education, prevention and treatment." This "war" is about education,
prevention and treatment, but without law enforcement, regulations, and
changing norms we cannot win.

Parker was right to say telling the truth about drugs, including marijuana,
means presenting both sides. According to new research, marijuana may help
some people with problems such as anxiety, but long-term use of marijuana
has been shown to create paranoia, anxiety, decreased motor coordination,
impaired memory, high carcinogen levels, inhibit reproduction and birth
complications.

Parker states, "Addicts are addicts ... But a social user of marijuana is
no more likely to start mainlining heroin than a weekend beer drinker is
going to start stashing Mad Dog in his lunch box." Maybe she's right, but
they are likely to increase their use and graduate to "harder" drugs. A
1999 report by CASA stated that more teens entered treatment for marijuana
abuse than for all other substances combined. In addition, teens 12-17 who
use marijuana are 85 times more likely to use cocaine. This correlation is
eight times stronger than the link between smoking and lung cancer and 20
times stronger than link between high cholesterol and heart disease (ONDCP).

Her pro-legalization statement, "Would it not be better to control those
substances,... as we try to do with alcohol, rather than criminalize a huge
segment of the population..." was inaccurate. The U.S.'s two legal
addictive drugs exemplify what would happen if marijuana were
legalized. One hundred nine million Americans use alcohol regularly, 62
million use tobacco, producing 500,000 deaths every year. In contrast, 13
million Americans use all illicit drugs combined, producing an estimated
14,000 deaths per year (CASA).

So to Kathleen Parker I say this: In your generation and amongst your peers
there may be casual users who have never had problems but in our generation
marijuana is stronger, values are weaker and we are bombarded by pro-drug
use messages, just like yours. The truth is: Research and statistics don't
lie. We are credible when we focus on past mistakes, pay attention to the
trends and try to prevent future heartache. There are no blanket
statements in this "war": for every positive there is a negative; every
casual user, an addict; and for every opinion, there is a rebuttal.

Michelle Wood, Community Education Specialist, Council for Prevention of
Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Hudson Falls