Don Feder notes ("National Review logic goes up in smoke," Aug. 22) that some conservatives are pushing marijuana legalization. This is not surprising since addictive drugs are highly profitable. Marijuana is an addictive drug which impairs thinking, judgment, memory, coordination and the immune system, causes cancer, lung disease, heart disease, mental illness, and leads to the use of other drugs. Like tobacco executives, promoters downplay the drug's dangers, using many of the same arguments. The youth are targeted as at the upcoming Boston Common pot party. Parents beware. - -- Janet D. Lapey, Quincy, MA [end]
Professor Miron claims that the benefits of smoking marijuana outweigh any potential harms. [Massachusetts News, February 2000] This view is not shared by our nation's top public health official, Dr. Donna Shalala, who has stated, "Research tells us marijuana limits learning, memory, perception, judgment, and motor skills, and it damages the brain, heart, lungs, and immune system. Marijuana is not a 'soft' drug." [Time, 12/9/96] To support his view, Professor Miron refers to books by Drs. Lester Grinspoon and John Morgan. Both are on the Board of Directors of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), a legalization group which funds marijuana rallies that target the youth, such as the annual Boston Common rock concert. [continues 794 words]
Drug legalizers employ Tokyo Rose tactics to convince people that we are losing the war on drugs, when the truth is that drug use is held down because of anti-drug laws. When drug legalization was forced on the Chinese in the nineteenth century, almost one in three became opium-addicted. What would America be like if one in every three persons were addicted to crack? Currently, only 0.8 percent of Americans use cocaine, whereas 52 percent drink alcohol, which is legal. Janet D. Lapey, M.D., Quincy, MA [end]
