To the Editor:

Re “Marijuana Damages Young Brains,” by Kenneth L. Davis and Mary Jeanne Kreek (Op-Ed, June 17):

No one is advocating that young people either consume or have ready access to cannabis. In fact, it is precisely because marijuana use may pose potential risks to certain consumers — for example, adolescents or people with a family history of psychiatric illness — that Norml believes that lawmakers should regulate it accordingly.

These regulations should include age restrictions, prohibitions on the unlicensed commercial production or retail sale of the plant and rational limits with regard to product marketing.

A pragmatic regulatory framework that allows for the legal, licensed commercial production and retail sale of marijuana to adults but restricts and discourages its use among young people — coupled with a legal environment that fosters open, honest dialogue between parents and children about marijuana’s effects — best reduces the risks associated with the plant’s use or abuse.

By contrast, advocating marijuana’s continued criminalization only compounds those risks.

Paul Armentano

Washington

The writer is deputy director of Norml, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.