Don't back off fight against drug abuse

In states with medical-use laws, kids are more likely to smoke marijuana.

By NICHOLAS V. O'HARA

Last update: April 18, 2008 - 6:38 PM

I strongly disagree with your April 17 editorial on medical marijuana. As a career law enforcement officer, I well know and have had the firsthand opportunity to observe the downside of backing away from a vigorous war on illegal drug use and abuse.

The results of drug abuse are devastating. As you should know but apparently choose to ignore, marijuana is a well-known gateway drug that, all too often, leads to continuing drug experimentation and abuse of other illegal drugs. Use and abuse of marijuana and other drugs leads to increased incidences of violent crime, child abuse and neglect and ruined lives.

Please tell me when drug abuse of any kind leads to a better student, a more reliable employee or a better citizen. Each and every time that a responsible person, community leader or respected news outlet such as the Star Tribune suggests that marijuana use, under the cloak of a legitimate medicine or not, is not a serious issue, you make our job tougher whether we are parents, teachers, cops or employers.

The overwhelming opinion, whether within the law enforcement community, the medical community or among the general public, is that smoked marijuana is a poor substitute for thoughtful and proven means of delivering meaningful medical care to seriously ill patients. Rather, you have taken the anecdotal stories bandied about by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), whose sole reason for being is the legalizing of marijuana use and abuse on a national scale, and run with them.

Casual observers may not be aware that smoked marijuana results in the passage of over 400 chemicals into one's system, a number of which may lead to cancer. Please find me responsible medical doctors who would prescribe medication for a patient and then direct that it be delivered by placing it in a cigarette and smoking it. Accepted medical practice prescribes the type, amount and frequency of a medication's use. Not so with smoked marijuana.

Seven of 12 states where medical marijuana laws are in effect note that there was an increased use of marijuana by youth 12-17 years of age. Ten of the 12 states reported that children in the same age group were above the national average in first-time use of marijuana. Not a good sign.

Your editorial mentions that the bill is supported by some Republican legislators, past and present, as if to give the legislation some credibility and legs to stand on. If memory serves me correctly, Gov. Tim Pawlenty remains the standard-bearer for the Republicans and most conservative Minnesotans. As an informed, thoughtful and responsible parent, he well knows the downside and consequences that would result from passage of this poorly thought-out and loosely written legislation. If I were a betting man, my money would be on Gov. Pawlenty to veto this foolish notion should the bill reach his desk.

Nicholas V. O'Hara, Edina, is an inspector in the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office.

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