To the Editor: Richard O'connor's Letter, "Drug War's Cure Worse Than Disease," Printed on Dec. 2, Hit the Nail on the Head. This country has spent at least $1 trillion in the past 40 years fighting a so-called "war on drugs" that cannot and will not be won. That's not counting the billions of dollars and millions of lives put on hold or ruined by getting jailed for possession of drugs. In the past week, two people were jailed -- one with four percocet pills and another with five. If I remember correctly, percocet is a pain killer. In the same week, the former chief of police of Bethel pleaded guilty to distributing crack cocaine. [continues 140 words]
I would like to clarify the comments attributed to me by the Free Press on July 16 ("Locally Speaking"). The context of the statement is extremely important. I was discussing the medical marijuana ballot initiative that will be up for a vote in Detroit. Numerous doctors have agreed with me that there is no such thing as medicinal marijuana. This initiative is sponsored by George Soros, who is a big financial supporter of John Kerry and liberal interest groups like Moveon org. The initiative is opposed by Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. [continues 123 words]
The Australian Medical Association has praised Labor's wide consultation on drug issues, including the medical use of cannabis (``AMA salutes drugs plan,'' Daily Telegraph, February 24). On the other hand, the UN's International Narcotics Control Board is somewhat cautious in its policy regarding the therapeutic use of cannabis. On December 12, 2000, the board replied to my inquiry as follows: ``...any decision on the medical use of cannabis should be based on clear scientific and medical evidence. ``There have been so far no results made available to the board from research projects in that area undertaken in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and in the US. [continues 105 words]
