SHUT UP AND MAKE ME A HEMPWICH

Jim Washburn's excellent column "Felony Foods" (Lost in OC, March 15)
highlighted the absurdity of a government crackdown on hemp at a time
when the country faces the real threat of international terrorism.
The Drug Enforcement Administration's decision to get tough on hemp
pretzels, snack bars and veggie burgers seems absurd. Like any drug,
marijuana can be harmful if abused. Unlike alcohol, pot has never
been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the
addictive properties of nicotine. Unfortunately, marijuana has come
to represent '60s counterculture to misguided reactionaries intent on
legislating their version of morality. The reefer-madness myths have
long been discredited, forcing the drug war gravy train to spend
millions of tax dollars on politicized research, trying to find harm
in a relatively benign plant. This country cannot afford to continue
subsidizing the prejudices of culture warriors to the tune of $50
billion annually.

Robert Sharpe
Drug Policy Alliance
Washington, D.C.