Pubdate: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 Source: Naples Daily News (FL) Copyright: 2002 Naples Daily News. Contact: http://www.naplesnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/284 Author: Pat Barton DON'T FALL FOR THAT PLOY Editor, Naples Daily News: What nonsense are two recent letters that seek to diffuse concerns about marijuana by citing the greater evils of cocaine and methamphetamine. Such letters are just another ploy in the efforts of pro-pot forces to legalize marijuana along with such state initiatives as so-called "medical marijuana." There are over 10,000 scientific studies on marijuana, none of which have shown the drug to be either safe or effective for any medical condition; in fact no other illegal drug causes such a broad range of cellular damage as does marijuana. The American Medical Association and the American Cancer Society have gone on record stating that marijuana has not been scientifically shown to be safe or effective as medicine. The U.S. Supreme Court examined this issue in 2001 and unanimously ruled, "There is no medical defense for smoked marijuana." The National Institutes of Health states, "People with HIV and other diseases of the immune system should avoid marijuana." U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmone recently reported that more than half of all teenagers in drug treatment programs are there because of marijuana. While this newspaper would agree that everyone is entitled to his own opinion, one hopes we all understand that not everyone is entitled to his own set of "facts." Finally, public opinion polls consistently have shown a large majority of the American people do not favor the legalization of marijuana. These guys can put that in their pipe and smoke it! PAT BARTON Naples - --- MAP posted-by: SHeath(DPFFlorida)