Pubdate: Wed, 27 Jun 2001
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Section: Denver & The West; Pg. B-06
Copyright: 2001 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Authors: Robert Stoyko, Paul Armentano, Robert Sharpe

THE OPEN FORUM - 'MARIJUANA: A GATEWAY DRUG'

Offer Truth, Not Lies, Hysteria

How blind can some people be? Clotilde Bowen's Compass  article, 
'Marijuana: a gateway drug' (June 20), is a pointed  example.

Most kids' gateway drug is tobacco or alcohol. Both are illegal  for minors 
to acquire. So those are the first drug laws that they  break. Marijuana is 
just the next step. Yes, marijuana is  psychologically addictive, but both 
tobacco and alcohol are  physically addictive. Yet Bowen supports the use 
of alcohol on  'cultural' grounds. She even complains that 'there was not a 
drink  in the house' at a party she attended. She has had a 
cigarette  smoking habit since early on, but as a doctor seems to find 
no  problem with that. She's into 'uppers,' not 'downers,' as she  states. 
Not much of an anti-drug message there.

If we didn't lie to our children about the different degrees  of danger 
from the various drugs, legal and illegal, then perhaps  we could get them 
to regard the seriousness of drug use. If we  continue to tell them to 'do 
as I say, not as I do,' how do we  expect them to believe anything that we 
say? Truth, education and  medical treatment rather than lies, hysteria and 
incarceration are  the proper tools of a war on drugs.

Robert Stoyko
Wheat Ridge

Marijuana A 'Terminus' Drug

I find it fascinating that medical professionals like Dr.  Clotilde Bowen 
often dismiss patient testimony advocating  marijuana's therapeutic utility 
as 'anecdotal,' yet rely  exclusively on similar testimonials to support 
claims of pot's  purported harms. Bowen may indeed have rubbed elbows with 
persons  whom she believes used marijuana irresponsibly; however, as she 
is  well aware, the plural of anecdote is not necessarily evidence.

According to the 1999 report conducted by the National  Academy of Sciences 
Institute of Medicine, 'There is no conclusive  evidence that the drug 
effects of marijuana are causally linked to  the subsequent abuse of other 
illicit drugs.' By the government's  own estimates, for every 120 Americans 
who have tried marijuana,  there is only one regular user of cocaine and 
less than one user  of heroin. Statistically, marijuana is a terminus, 
rather than a  gateway, to the world of hard drugs. The ongoing debate 
regarding  the medical use of marijuana is a worthwhile one. However, 
it  should not be clouded by those all too eager to confuse a 
public  health issue with the war on drugs to support their own personal bias.

Paul Armentano
Washington, D.C.
Senior policy analyst, NORML Foundation

Drug War 'Fuels Crime'

Clotilde Bowen makes a mistake all too common among drug war apologists. 
She confuses the drug war's collateral damage with the drugs themselves. 
Although there is nothing inherent in marijuana that compels users to try 
harder drugs like heroin or crack, its black market status puts users in 
contact with criminals who push them. Current drug policy is a gateway 
policy. Demonizing  marijuana as a 'gateway drug' when the drug war is 
responsible for  the gateway is extremely disingenuous. Then again, 
deliberate  misinformation is a common tactic among drug warriors.

Alcohol was very much associated with organized crime and  violence prior 
to the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. Attempts to  limit the supply of 
illegal drugs while demand remains constant  only increase the 
profitability of drug trafficking. In terms of  addictive drugs like 
heroin, a spike in street prices leads  desperate addicts to increase 
criminal activity to feed desperate  habits. The drug war doesn't fight 
crime; it fuels crime.

Robert Sharpe
Washington, D.C.
Program officer, Lindesmith Center-Drug  Policy Foundation
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