Opinion: What Prop. 64 backers don’t tell you: Inhaling marijuana is bad for your lungs

To the editor: Robert MacCoun presented an array of unintended consequences regarding the possibility of legalizing marijuana in California. However, it boggles my mind that I have heard nothing about the harmful effects of marijuana smoking on lung health. (“If you think legalizing marijuana is no big deal, think again,” Opinion, Nov. 3)

I suggest readers check out the American Lung Assn.’s website for information regarding this issue; the data are based on science, not scare tactics. Smoke is harmful to the lungs, and pot smokers generally inhale deeply and hold their breath longer.

We have passed many laws to restrict the use of tobacco smoking because it poses health risks. We have been bombarded with numerous ads cautioning us about the dangers of tobacco. If Proposition 64 passes, I can envision that years from now we will be seeing the same type of public service commercials urging pot smokers to put away their bongs and pipes.

Linda Linville, Corona

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To the editor: As a history professor with an expertise in the criminalization of marijuana by the U.S. in 1937, I must disagree with MacCoun on several points.

In China in 2800 B.C., the man known as the “father of Chinese medicine” called pot the “superior elixir of immortality.” In 1937, an American Medical Assn. lobbyist who opposed the law making marijuana illegal called the plant a “harmless medicine.”

Hemp was a major plant used for cloth and rope in the colonial period. Farmers were allowed to pay a tax with it, and during World War II the U.S. Department of Agriculture made a movie entitled “Hemp for Victory.”

When the Netherlands made pot legal in 1976, smoking rates did not increase. Anti-drug President Richard Nixon formed a commission on substance abuse in the early 1970s that ultimately recommended decriminalizing marijuana; he ignored the recommen-dation.

California should ignore MacCoun and pass Proposition 64. Judging by the success of former marijuana users like President Obama, Sarah Palin, Al Gore and Bill Clinton, it would be better for heavy drinkers to give up alcohol and use pot instead.

Robert W. Holdenvenzon, San Diego

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To the editor: Even if Proposition 64 passes, marijuana still won’t be “legal.” It is listed as a Schedule I substance under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act, right up there with LSD and heroin.

Why the federal government has allowed its use as long as it is managed in states electing to allow it is anyone’s guess. But if the federal government under a new president or for other reasons decides to enforce the law, all the “legal” pot states and the users in them are going to be in trouble.

Maybe we can make some money by declaring marijuana fully illegal and collecting millions of dollars in fines.

Ren Colantoni, Burbank

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