Pubdate: Fri, 09 Jun 2000 Date: 06/09/2000 Source: Mountain Xpress (NC) Author: Dana Beal Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n696/a05.html Adverse effects of cannabis can be largely eliminated via careful use of the common supplement melatonin. The symptoms of fogginess and memory loss Joseph Howard blamed on pot [letters, May 24, "Skip the pot, get a life"] are even more evident with the legal substance ethanol. We call it a hangover, and sublingual melatonin - twice a night - knocks that out, too. Ditto the crash of speed, "E", and the toxicity of over-caffeination, which we've all suffered from. Almost all psychoactive substances - legal and illegal - strip the system of melatonin, producing a nation of irritable, nasty-tempered insomniacs. Melatonin replaces the dream sleep lost through marijuana, alcohol and other "party drugs," and - as researchers are now finding out - REM sleep is vital to consolidation of long-term memory, reduction of cravings and proper mood. One in 20 people has to discontinue use, however, because the dreams are too vivid. Wouldn't a medical approach of treating the problem with supplements and vitamins, instead of prisons, save a lot of money? Or am I missing something here? Joe should mellow out. Dana Beal, Cures Not Wars, New York City [Editor's note: A letter printed in our May 24 issue by Joseph Howard - "Skip the pot, get a life" - apparently created a firestorm of controversy across America, after being posted on Web sites such as the one run by the Media Awareness Project. Because of the number of responses, some of the letters below are appearing only online.]