Pubdate: Wed, 13 Oct 2010 Source: Dallas Morning News (TX) Copyright: 2010 Russ Jones Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/cgi-bin/lettertoed.cgi Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117 Author: Russ Jones MARIJUANA'S SAFETY TEMPERED WITH MATURITY Re: "Marijuana shouldn't be legalized," by Gayle M. Tippit, Sunday Letters. As one who has been a San Jose, Calif., police officer, narcotics detective, DEA task force officer, state and federal court-recognized expert in the psychological and physiological effects of drugs and narcotics and who has written programs for and treated hundreds in drug treatment programs, I am shocked by Tippit's statements. It cannot be backed up by evidence, such as police reports, or by scientific studies. I hope this officer has never testified in court regarding this issue. My experience in the field parallels that of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Administrative Law Judge Francis Young, who ruled that marijuana is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. Russ Jones, New Braunfels - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake