MARIJUANA MYTHS

From your editorial ("DEA goes to pot," Feb. 23): "Either the DEA didn't
take the terrorist alert very seriously, or it has a remarkably twisted
notion of what constitutes a threat to the American people."

The Drug Enforcement Administration understands threats, all right. It
fully understands the threat that legal medical marijuana users and
dispensaries pose. It is a threat to the DEA's very existence.

If the federal government allows states to grant legal access to medical
marijuana for an extended period, three realities will emerge.

* Medical marijuana patients will not move on to use more dangerous illicit
drugs, thus disproving the "gateway theory."

* Patients will not rob or commit other crimes to fund their "habit."

* Those patients not fully crippled by their illnesses will demonstrate the
ability to lead full and productive lives while including marijuana as part
of their regular regimen.

Marijuana use has risks, as does all drug use. However, compared with
alcohol, it is far less dangerous. There is no rational reason to arrest
adults who use it responsibly.

If the DEA and other drug-warring agencies allow the above myths to be
exposed, they lose billions of dollars in funding currently allocated to
them in the War Against Americans, formerly known as the War Against Drugs.

STEPHEN HEATH

Drug Policy Forum of Florida

Clearwater