LETTERS: DIFFERS ON MARIJUANA

To the editor:

It seems that marijuana should not be legalized if we are to get our opinions from Gary Rust instead of forming any of our own. In his column, Mr. Rust uses a skewed survey and one-sided "facts" about marijuana to illustrate his point. I believe the public would have a more informed answer to the question posed if both sides of the marijuana debate have equal time.

First, there is the data gained from the Teen Challenge survey. It questioned 233 students in the Teen Challenge residential program. This program's noble purpose is to rehabilitate teens who have severe drug problems as well as emotional and psychological problems. The problem with the data is that is that they show a very narrow section of the estimated 20 million marijuana users in this fine country. Marijuana users range from short-order cooks to university presidents. Moreover, asking children who have been ravaged by serious drug abuse if marijuana should be legal is like asking a member of Gamblers Anonymous if there should be a $500 loss limit. Of the 70 percent who said that marijuana is a gateway drug, how many tried alcohol first? If the percentage is the same or greater, should we then make beer and wine illegal and treat its users as criminals?

Mr. Rust emphasizes the medical "facts" about marijuana. I have some of my own. According to Dr. Lester Grinspoon, a Harvard medical professor, marijuana is vital in the treatment of glaucoma and the restoration of appetite in AIDS patients. It also provides relief from the nausea caused by chemotherapy. Why no legalize a medicine that is not addictive and is less dangerous than those already prescribed nationwide, such as morphine, Demerol and codeine?

From 1986 to 1988, exhaustive public hearings were held in our nation's capital to investigate the medical qualities of pot. Judge Francis Young, chief administrative law judge of the Drug Enforcement Agency, issued a ruling that marijuana should be classified as a Schedule II narcotic so that it may be prescribed as medicine. The DEA has not complied with the judge's ruling. To this day, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug with heroin and methamphetamine.

Mr. Rust takes great care to inform us that marijuana is harmful to the human body. Although I believe his research is questionable, let us assume that it is accurate. Fried eggs will congest one's arteries. Too much chocolate can make one obese. I won't even mention bacon, cigarettes and table salt. If we follow Rust's logic, all of these things would be illegal. Some may suffer through an abuse of an activity, but that does not compel others to ban the activity because of the actions of a few.

The answer to your question is yes. Marijuana should be legal just as everyone should think for himself and not allow the powers that be to alter his mind with misinformation and distorted statistics.

BOBBY JOE ALLEN JR.

Jackson