Cheech Defended

I feel I have to respond to D.J. Noffsinger’s Sept. 9 letter, which charged that comic actor Cheech Marin may have ruined many lives through portrayal of drugs in some of his movies.

I am so tired of people mindlessly chanting the “Just Say No” mantra while ignoring the true problem. Wake up, Noffsinger--all the illicit drugs on the street combined don’t come close to killing half as many people as cigarettes and alcohol.

If you believe that celebrity behavior can influence people to such an extent, then Dean Martin and his ilk (who have boozy personae) are responsible for thousands of deaths a year. If Cheech and co-star Thomas Chong turned a few people on to marijuana instead of infinitely more addictive and deadly legal drugs, more power to them.

JOSHUA OLSON

Hermosa Beach