Pubdate: Sun, 27 May 2001
Source: Ogdensburg Journal/Advance News (NY)
Copyright: 2001 St. Lawrence County Newspapers Corp
Contact: Accepts LTEs by mail only!
Website: http://www.ogd.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/689
Author: David Morgan
NOTE: Accepts LTEs by mail only! Must be signed w/phone#

POT PERSPECTIVE

I want to provide information, and a perspective, to the recent sentencing 
of a person convicted for being in the criminal possession of 13 pounds of 
marijuana.  From published accounts, it appears that the defense in that 
case was able to make a persuasive argument that the 13 pounds of marijuana 
were intended for "self-medication".  I assume that this was offered to 
challenge any idea of the possibility of the drug being available for 
criminal sales.

I found this argument creative, but difficult to accept.  The typical 
marijuana joint contains between 0.5 and 1.0 grams of the cannabis plant 
matter (source: National Institute on Drug Abuse Notes, Vol. 11, No 
2).  Doing the math on this is easy, yet informative.  Thirteen pounds of 
marijuana is equivalent to 5,902 grams.  This amount would then be 
available to produce between 5,902 to 11,804 joints, or between 16-32 
joints daily for a year!  Hence, my difficulty in accepting the argument of 
"self-medication".

David Morgan Ogdensburg, New York 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom