Pubdate: Thu, 22 Jun 2000
Source: The Daily Review (PA)
Contact:  116 Main St., Towanda, PA 18848
Website: http://www.thedailyreview.com/
Bookmark: additional articles on medicinal cannabis are available 
at  http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm

MARIJUANA SHOULD NOT BE LEGALIZED FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES

Hawaii became the first state in the country last week to legalize 
marijuana use and possession for medicinal purposes.

It's a move that has already come under attack by the Justice Department, 
which promises to challenge Hawaii's law in court.

The Justice Department is presently waging legal battles against similar 
attempts to decriminalize marijuana in Alaska, Washington, California, 
Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Maine and the District of Columbia.

We believe that the effort to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes is 
nothing but a first step in the process by which some people want to 
decriminalize the use of the drug for recreational purposes.

We don't understand why marijuana is needed for medicinal purposes when 
much more effective drugs are legally available for pain relief.

There's no reason, medical or otherwise, for marijuana to be legalized in 
the United States.

We believe that decriminalizing the drug will do nothing but send the 
message to the public that marijuana use is acceptable. The truth is that 
marijuana is an addictive drug that destroys brain cells and typically 
sends a person down the road of drug abuse.

Marijuana is often a novice drug users starter drug, a narcotic that 
introduces the future addict to the world of drug abuse and self-destruction.

Trying to pass marijuana off as anything else is simply insulting to one's 
intelligence.

We hope the Justice Department wins its court battles as marijuana should 
definitely remain illegal in the United States. 
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