OH, HO, HO, IT'S MAGIC ...

Re "Magic number: zero" (SN&R Letters, January 19):

I'm not positive what song was on the radio at the time, but the
innocent driver who was exiting [Interstate 5] and hit head-on by a
stoned driver entering the wrong way would beg to differ with the
writer's statistical analysis of deaths due to marijuana "usage."

According to the [California Highway Patrol] report, blood-alcohol
tests taken after this "accident" failed to detect any alcohol in the
stoner's blood. The report also documents the stoner admitted to
smoking marijuana moments before he drove his vehicle. ...

You might say "Apples and oranges, man. Smoking didn't kill the
innocent driver; smoking and driving did, man." Au contraire, DUI
breath. It's still driving under the influence.

By the way, I'm for the legalization of marijuana. However, I think
blanket (irresponsible) statements like "zero deaths in over 5,000
years of documented usage" are not only false, but also set the
(legalization) movement back even further.

Richard Copp

Sacramento