The Debate Over Marijuana as Medicine

In response to “Marijuana: No Simple Answers” (July 9), there actually is a simple answer: Marijuana is hazardous to your health.

I remember in the 1970s, Dr. Peter Bourne, the medical advisor at the White House stated: “Cocaine is no more harmful than aspirin.” We now know the consequences of that simple, yet disastrous statement--crack babies, cocaine cartels, corruption, etc.

And here is a simple answer from the scientists at the National Institutes of Health: “After carefully examining the existing data, there is no evidence to suggest that smoked marijuana might be superior to currently available therapies for glaucoma, weight loss associated with AIDS, nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy, or intractable pain.”

Once again, the simple answer is that smoked marijuana has not been accepted as medicine by any reputable medical entity.

GLENN LEVANT

President and founding director

DARE America

Inglewood