US WA: PUB LTE: Marijuana Foes Peddle Fear

Spokesman-Review, 18 Oct 2012 – This responds to the Oct. 2 editorial "Regulation, taxation of marijuana worth a try." Opponents of marijuana policy reform will argue that it is an "addictive" or "gateway drug." A defining feature of addiction is the presence of withdrawal symptoms, but there is no medical consensus recognizing a cannabis withdrawal syndrome, without which asserting addictiveness is disingenuous.