Exponent misinforms in editorial on drugs

This letter is in response to your Aug. 24 editorial, entitled "Priorities in war on drugs require reconsideration." In a statement comparing marijuana and opiates, you state, "Marijuana is the only drug that has some medicinal benefits." However, this statement is untrue. Doctors commonly perscribe opiates such as morphine and codeine, for their well-documented pain relieving effects. In addition, you report that more time should be allocated to combating drugs other than marijuana.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice in a survey to high school seniors in 2000, 21.6 percent reported using marijuana in the previous month (31 percent of drug cases involved marijuana in 1999), while only 2.1 percent and 0.7 percent reported using cocaine (45 percent of drug cases) and heroin (11 percent of drug cases), respectively.

You plead for marijuana to become a "secondary objective," but I believe that these statistics alone prove more time is being allocated to so-called hard drugs than on marijuana.

This year you have printed several poorly researched editorials in your column; some of which have been drawn to our attention by fellow Exponent readers. I hope that in the future you will refrain from printing editorials on topics with which you have not done your homework, and I hope that you will cease to misinform the student body with false and misleading statistics. Danger! Purdue Exponent, get on the floor.

Mark Budde

Sophomore, Schools of Engineering

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