Editor:

To start, I want to say thank you for running the two columns about police encounters and the new marijuana law in the opinion section yesterday. They were well written, and understanding your rights with alcohol is extremely important.

However, in the marijuana article, there was a place where the differences in scaling alcohol and marijuana in the body are described, and it was slightly inaccurate. One drink, in BAL levels, varies based on both weight and gender of the person. For a 150 pound male, it would actually be about .03 per serving of alcohol, 50 percent more than the .02 quoted in the article. For women, it’s even more, and generally ranges from .03 to .04. The .02 per drink referenced would most likely only apply to high weight males.

Also, the rate of metabolizing alcohol varies very little from .016 per hour. This would mean that the average drink actually takes about 2 hours to process, depending on weight and gender.

My source for all this information is the WSU Alcohol and Drug Counseling and Prevention Services, and can be found on their website adcaps.wsu.edu

Darin C. Foster

WSU undergraduate

-The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of Student Publications.