I'd like to address just one of the many myths Eric Swankoski espoused in his recent letter.

He claims that "Hundreds of studies have shown that marijuana is in fact a gateway drug."

The gateway drug theory basically claims that marijuana is a "gateway drug" because most people who use hard drugs such as heroin started smoking marijuana first.

This theory is deceptive and, in my opinion, purposely so because it is not, as many people are led to believe, the same thing as saying that most people who smoke marijuana go on to use harder drugs.

The gateway drug theory is also essentially useless because taken to its logical conclusion it means that not only is marijuana a gateway drug, but so is alcohol, nicotine and caffeine.

Yes, most hard drug users have used marijuana before they started using hard drugs.

But most hard drug users have also drunk alcohol before smoking marijuana, smoked cigarettes before drinking alcohol and consumed caffeine in some form before smoking cigarettes.

Caffeine, according to this theory, must therefore be the ultimate gateway drug.

Obviously, most people who have consumed caffeine do not go on to be marijuana users, much less hard drug users.