Pubdate: Tue, 20 Aug 2002 Source: Post-Star, The (NY) Section: Opinion Page: A5 Copyright: 2002 Glens Falls Newspapers Inc. Contact: http://www.poststar.net/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1068 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n1443/a11.html Author: Michelle Wood Note: Syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker of the Orlando Sentinel runs biweekly on the opinion page of source; article referenced above also ran in the Post Star on Sun, 04 Aug 2002. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion) RESEARCH, STATISTICS IN DRUG WAR DON'T LIE Editor: On Aug. 4 Kathleen Parker of The Orlando Sentinel stated,"...dollar for dollar, the billions we funnel into this 'war' would be better spent on education, prevention and treatment." This "war" is about education, prevention and treatment, but without law enforcement, regulations, and changing norms we cannot win. Parker was right to say telling the truth about drugs, including marijuana, means presenting both sides. According to new research, marijuana may help some people with problems such as anxiety, but long-term use of marijuana has been shown to create paranoia, anxiety, decreased motor coordination, impaired memory, high carcinogen levels, inhibit reproduction and birth complications. Parker states, "Addicts are addicts ... But a social user of marijuana is no more likely to start mainlining heroin than a weekend beer drinker is going to start stashing Mad Dog in his lunch box." Maybe she's right, but they are likely to increase their use and graduate to "harder" drugs. A 1999 report by CASA stated that more teens entered treatment for marijuana abuse than for all other substances combined. In addition, teens 12-17 who use marijuana are 85 times more likely to use cocaine. This correlation is eight times stronger than the link between smoking and lung cancer and 20 times stronger than link between high cholesterol and heart disease (ONDCP). Her pro-legalization statement, "Would it not be better to control those substances,... as we try to do with alcohol, rather than criminalize a huge segment of the population..." was inaccurate. The U.S.'s two legal addictive drugs exemplify what would happen if marijuana were legalized. One hundred nine million Americans use alcohol regularly, 62 million use tobacco, producing 500,000 deaths every year. In contrast, 13 million Americans use all illicit drugs combined, producing an estimated 14,000 deaths per year (CASA). So to Kathleen Parker I say this: In your generation and amongst your peers there may be casual users who have never had problems but in our generation marijuana is stronger, values are weaker and we are bombarded by pro-drug use messages, just like yours. The truth is: Research and statistics don't lie. We are credible when we focus on past mistakes, pay attention to the trends and try to prevent future heartache. There are no blanket statements in this "war": for every positive there is a negative; every casual user, an addict; and for every opinion, there is a rebuttal. Michelle Wood, Community Education Specialist, Council for Prevention of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Hudson Falls - --- MAP posted-by: Jackl