Pubdate: Tue, 15 Dec 2015 Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA) Copyright: 2015 The Press Democrat Contact: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/348 Author: Dick McKee THIS IS MEDICINE? EDITOR: I have mixed feelings about the legalization of marijuana. I did my share of drugs years ago, and I am a recovering alcoholic. While I feel the war on drugs has been a dismal failure since its inception, the proliferation of pot as another inebriate isn't going to turn out well. The marijuana available today isn't the "ditch weed" we were smoking in the 1960s and '70s. This stuff is super potent. Is this what it is we're looking for? Let's keep people out of jail for using pot, but any time you create an industry, you will pervert the original intent of the exercise. I can see that happening already. And the best promotion is probably not depicting people in the "medication" area burning joints that look like your arm ("In search of best buds," Saturday). C'mon people, let call this what it is. Let's all get stoned! DICK McKEE Santa Rosa - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom