It is difficult to disagree with Dr. James Dobson. For years, I trusted his gentle, wise instruction with the raising of my children. Having five, I needed all the help I could get. Through Dr. Dobson I learned to draw my line short and often wondered if I would see his book, "The New Dare to Discipline", floating in the toilet.

When I first started looking into the marijuana issue, the Focus on the Family website was one of the first places I checked out. Naturally, the stance was against legalization, but no scriptural references were given to validate the FotF position. I then wrote, expressing my concern that the Christian community was in error in their unanimous support of the cannabis prohibition. In response I received the same information that was available on the FotF website.

Now, a few years down the road, I understand why there were no scriptural references to support the position of Focus on the Family � there are none. Quite the contrary, to support the criminalization of cannabis users is to go against the scriptures of God's holy word.

The authors' of "Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts, a Review of the Scientific Evidence", Lynn Zimmer, Ph.D and John P. Morgan, M.D., have graciously and generously consented to the somewhat extensive use of their book to refute the facts used by Dr. Dobson to validate the FotF position against legalization. In addition to their book, other sources, such as recent studies and The Drug War Fact Book http://www.drugwarfacts.org has also been used.

The following statements from Focus on the Family can be found at Focus on the Family's Dr. Dobson Answers Question About Marijuana

1. Ninety percent of those using hard drugs such as heroin started with marijuana.