As a former marijuana addict, I am upset with the heavily pro-marijuana-dispensaries line your publication continues to take with regard to this obviously important issue. While I have no objection to California citizens' rights to pass such a law, nor even the basic concept of "medical marijuana," I believe the intent of the law has been taken to an extreme which in the end will not serve sufferers of legitimate diagnosed problems.

I have seen advertisements in your paper as well as others (notably the L.A. Weekly), which have made claims that so-called "medical marijuana" will help sufferers of problems as distinct as depression, seizures, and cancer. While I don't doubt that those under chemotherapy can benefit from marijuana's miraculous ability to induce the "munchies," being someone who has suffered in the past from clinical depression and seizures, I can say that I was never so depressed as when I was addicted to marijuana. It is a known depressant, much like alcohol, and though it can provide some temporary relief it can never solve such problems in the long term. As far as seizures are concerned, I doubt that the proponents of "medical marijuana" would be able to find a single reputable neurologist who would prescribe this form of treatment.

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