United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510-4304

Auguust 3, 1998

Ms. Tammera Halphen

Dear Ms. Halphen:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the issue of legalization of marijuana.

With the recent increase in drug use in our country, particularly among our youth, the worst message we as public officials could send by legalizing marijuana , would be that drugs are good. We need to combat drug use by informing young people about the credible scientific data showing that drugs do harm. We can win the war on drugs, but not through encouraging their use as medicine.
 

I appreciate hearing from you and hope you will not hesitate to contact me again on any issue of concern to you.