Two LTEs

Two LTEs I wrote that didn't get printed....

To the Dallas Morning News:

Hits and Misses -- Timing is everything
Perhaps the rallies to reschedule marijuana for
medical use, which were held this week in Dallas and
other US cities, were timely instead ill-timed as you
commented.

The key to preventing drug abuse is to give kids
realistic and factual information so that they can
make educated choices.

Just Say NO has not worked yet, as drugs are more
available now than ever. Red ribbons and Reefer
Madness propganda tactics work no better. To avoid
being proved "insane" by the "doing the same thing and
expecting different results" maxium, we need real
alternatives to our present policies.

One alternative might be to be honest about the
benefits many people gain from using medicinal
marijuana. Framing something as a "medicine" for "sick
people" tends to make it less appealing to most kids.

A recent study by the Marijuana Policy Project showed
that the decline in teen marijuana use in states with
medical marijuana laws slightly exceeds the decline
seen nationally. It also finds that California, which
passed the first effective medical marijuana law in
1996, has seen particularly large reductions, ranging
from 40% to 50% in many categories.

To the New York Times:

Royal Lovers
The British press is down on Prince Charles because
he's interested in issues like global warming, organic
farming and holistic medicine? They don't like to
report that his charities raised millions of Pounds
for inner city education and small-business
development? Would they prefer a future king who
marched in step with his Prime Minister and Cabinet to
George W. Bush's ill-advised war?

Obviously Prince Charles is a lover, not a fighter.
Too bad he doesn't have the support of his press or
his country. There's no telling what good he might do
if enough people shared his interests.