The New York Times, Letters to the Editor
August 9, 2000

To the Editor:

"Distilling the Truth in the Ecstasy Buzz" (news article, Aug. 6):

In our rush to protect our youth from the dangerous drug Ecstasy, let's not forget the far more pervasive and destructive drug of choice of millions of school-age children: marijuana.

Your article includes the stunning statistic that marijuana use has reached as high as 40 to 50 percent among high school students. Marijuana may be achieving the status of a prescribed medicine in some communities, but in the hands of impressionable teenagers it is still a dangerous drug that wreaks havoc on their lives.

The vast majority of youths in residential drug treatment are there because of marijuana abuse, and while their struggles rarely make headlines, their lives are nevertheless precarious.

Peter Provet
President, Odyssey House
New York, Aug. 7, 2000

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