Let me start by saying that I was an investigator who headed up the juvenile narcotic bureau for a major city in northern California. In 1960, I was assigned to work drug abuse problems that was occurring in our local school district.

In my 20 plus years of working with countless amounts of juveniles and parents whose sons or daughters were involved in drug use, I saw on a daily basis how marijuana affected the juvenile, as well as the effects it had on the family. In my experience, I see marijuana as a gateway drug. The user is introduced to other people involved in the drug culture, who want to turn these stoners on to other drugs.

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Beyond Legalizing Medical Use, Senator Wants to Decriminalize Growing Small Amount for Personal Use

ST. CROIX - Sen. Terrence Nelson says he intends to move forward quickly with medical marijuana legislation - and other legislation dealing with marijuana - after returning in late April from a fact- finding trip to Washington and Colorado.

"I am convinced with conviction that we need to make cannabis available as a medicine, if nothing else," Nelson said.

He and a group from the territory visited Colorado and Washington looking into those states' experiences with legalizing marijuana, meeting with state officials and people involved in the marijuana industry.

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Since 1935, Americans have been hoodwinked by the federal government with the movie "Reefer Madness," which portrays marijuana as being an evil substance that caused people, especially black people, to commit horrendous crimes.

But, as the police chief of Washington, D.C. states, "People that use marijuana don't go out and commit violent crimes, they just want to eat a doughnut and relax." Anyone who attends a public middle school or high school knows there is no zero tolerance anymore.

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