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As a longtime activist against health frauds such as
laetrile as a cancer treatment and as a former director of
drug abuse prevention programs, I read Joseph Califano
Jr.'s oped piece " Medical Marijuana and the Lesson of
Laetrile" [Feb. 17] with great interest and outrage.

Just as drugs can be abused, so can analogies. Comparing
medical marijuana to laetrile is an example of analogy
abuse. Consider:

1. While there has never been a scientifically plausible
basis for the extraordinary medical claims made for
laetrile, as far back as 1982 the National Academy of
Sciences noted "[marijuana has] shown promise in the
treatment of a variety of disorders."

2. Laetrile failed miserably when tested under
controlled conditions and never received FDA approval. THC,
the major active ingredient in marijuana, is, in capsule
form, already an FDAapproved drug, even though capsules
deliver THC less efficiently than marijuana smoking.

3. Laetrile's toxicity is well documented; it causes
cyanide poisoning. Marijuana was described as "one of the
safest therapeutically active substances known to man" by
the Drug Enforcement Administration's own administrative
law judge in 1988 following two years of hearings.

Mr. Califano insists that there is no scientific
evidence that marijuana is superior to currently available
therapies.

But, why does marijuana have to be proven superior to
other therapies to be considered a viable option?

Considering that marijuana is inexpensive and relatively
nontoxic, and it obviously provides relief to sick people,
Mr. Califano's insistence that marijuana now pass
stringent tests of its medical efficacy is inhumane.
WILLIAM M. LONDON

Director of Public Health

American Council of Science and Health

New York