Fact: Marijuana is not a gateway drug

In Janet Chandik's letter, "We should keep marijuana illegal," she quickly claims marijuana as a "gateway drug" when in reality most people experiment with alcohol and tobacco before cannabis and other substances.

The gateway theory has been disproved by numerous scientific studies.

Her reasoning for keeping marijuana illegal due to our society's inability to handle other substances like alcohol does not make sense.

Maybe she should have written a letter calling for a return to alcohol prohibition and also outlawing prescription drugs since she states they too are abused.

Sure, some people abuse alcohol and prescription drugs, but depriving responsible adults of these substances due to a small segment that abuses them is bad policy, not to mention cruel to those who can medically benefit from prescription drugs.

She also failed to mention there is not one documented overdose fatality from marijuana.

I am curious as to how she thinks it is wrong to allow responsible adults to alter their minds in a free country like ours?

If it's my mind and body and I'm not hurting or endangering anyone, then what is the problem with consuming cannabis?

Dan Linn

Executive Director

Illinois NORML

Chicago