FEDS AT FAULT FOR STUDY FAILURE

Dear editor:

The federal government has made certain that marijuana studies are doomed
to failure. The case of Phillip Alden confirms this. As long as patients
are required to use federal marijuana that consists of the leaf rather than
the bud of the plant and has only 1 percent THC, no one will be able to
substantiate its usefulness.

What's worse is that the FDA just this week banned all hemp food products
with even trace levels of THC. It will be difficult to conduct any further
trials as long as the deck is stacked, as currently is the case.

We hear drug warriors claiming that pot is 10 times stronger than it was.
If so, why use the nasty 1- percent variety, except to disprove what other
studies have proven - namely, marijuana's effectiveness.

Ray Carlson

Redwood City