Patch Letter To The Editor: Marijuana Is Not A Gateway Drug

To the Editor:

I recently learned that Ocean City is looking into banning marijuana sales in an effort to protect its family values image. Some of the council’s discussion included Mr. Barr’s assertion that marijuana is a “gateway drug." The only thing it’s a gateway to is prison. Since 2000 the number of Americans in prison has escalated from 1.5 million to 2.3 million. The percentage of non-violent drug offenders has remained the same: 33 percent comprised mainly of marijuana users.

It is a race and class war on African Americans and Hispanics: “African-Americans make up 14% of NJ’s overall population, they make up more than 50% of the state’s prison population, nearly 3 times as likely to be arrested for possessing marijuana in NJ than whites, even though more whites generally report using marijuana than blacks.”

The Gateway concept that marijuana leads users to other drugs was rejected by scientists as far back as 1999. A report commissioned by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences read: "There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs.”

Regarding the stated goal of protecting the family values image of OC, a friend’s comment hit the nail on the head: “Good old OC. As reactionary as ever. They only protect the 'good sins' like greed, avarice, adultery and hypocrisy, in keeping with its finest traditions.”

Sincerely yours,
Steven Fenichel, M.D.