Pubdate: Thu, 14 Jul 2016
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2016 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact: http://services.bostonglobe.com/news/opeds/letter.aspx?id=6340
Website: http://bostonglobe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Author: William Graves
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n467/a08.html

A REGULATED CANNABIS MARKET COULD PROTECT PEOPLE FROM DANGERS OF DEALERS

While I have serious questions about whether the Commonwealth is able 
and ready to effectively regulate the sale and distribution of 
cannabis, and I am not sure how I will vote on the referendum ballot, 
I disagree with Joan Vennochi's assertion that marijuana is a gateway 
drug to opioid addiction ("Like Bill Clinton, I didn't inhale").

Vennochi's evidence is anecdotal, and she overlooks the most likely 
connection between marijuana and opioid use. When marijuana is 
illegal, people are forced to buy from dealers who have a financial 
incentive to offer other, possibly addictive drugs to their 
customers. Legalization, even more than decriminalization, could 
close or limit this gateway for the recreational marijuana user.

William Graves, Medford
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