We have a drug problem. Its victims include the very young, the very old and everyone in between.

According to The Journal of the American Medical Association, the number of babies born addicted to opiates has nearly tripled in the last decade. Overdose death rates for the elderly increased twofold from 1999 to 2006. In 2009, drug-induced deaths exceeded deaths from motor vehicle accidents. The culprit: legal prescription painkillers.

In many people, it starts innocently: A fall, an accident or a surgery begets unbearable pain, treated with an opiate painkiller. As useful as these drugs are, they can also be deadly. Their tragedy ripples through a network of family and friends whose lives are also torn apart and forever altered. We can do better.

What if there was a medication that acted on its own endogenous bodily system to relieve pain, as documented in clinical studies, while never resulting in one overdose death? There is. It's called cannabis.

The real drug problem in this country lies in the war we have waged on this medicinal plant, while ever increasing numbers of young and old suffer and die from legal prescription drugs. It shouldn't be. It needn't be. People should have a choice.

We can do better for our families.

Theresa Daniello Auburn Township