A Chicago NBC5 report on medical marijuana veers far off course, thanks to a heavy focus on its non-medical uses and, even more so, to this quote:

Rick Sanders, Chicago special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Agency, said that on average, marijuana seized in Chicago is twice as potent as the marijuana used in the 1960s and 70s.

"If you want to equate it to alcohol, it's like this is 99 percent proof," Sanders said.

Thanks Rick for that comparison.

Did you know, Rick, that alcohol "proof" is defined as the percentage of alcohol present in a given volume of a drink, multiplied by two? So, Rick, something with 99 proof is only 49% alcohol. Rick, that's exactly the alcohol content you'll find in a mixed drink like a Geneva Convention, only slightly more than what teems through your average whiskey, gin, rum or vodka, and only about 2/3 what you'll find in a higher-octane bottle of Bacardi 151. Needless to say, Rick, all of these products are sold legally in bars all across Illinois. (I can personally attest to this fact, Rick.)

So Rick, are you saying that pot should be legal? Because your point certainly doesn't make the opposite case.

Read the story here. The TV report is here, and a medical-marijuana-user slideshow appears here.

Update: Stephen at decrimwatch wrote to NBC5 "reporter" Nesita Kwan to complain about her crappy reporting.