IN STUDENTS' INTEREST

In response to Dana Larsen of the BC Marijuana Party ["Begs to Differ,"
Letters, April 11], it is time that the marijuana debate shifted to its
effect on our youth. Marijuana use is creating a class of students who are
compromising their short-term memory, their initiative, and their cognitive
abilities-not exactly the recipe for academic success.

It is time to put before the public the devastating effect marijuana has
upon adolescents. The data is not new. Marijuana has a long "half-life."

This property of cannabis sustains both acute and long-term effects on
brain function-problems with short-term memory, concentration, temporal
disorientation, changes in perception, and mood swings.

With all the furor about tobacco smoking these days, it should be
emphasized that marijuana contains up to 50 to 70 per cent more carcinogens
than tobacco. This is why in clinical trials, rather than smoking, patients
will take different formulations of cannabis-based medicines using devices
that spray them under the tongue and allow them to be absorbed directly
into the bloodstream.

For anyone wanting to check the facts for themselves, a good place to start
is with a summary article published by the American Academy of Pediatrics
in Pediatrics Vol. 104 No. 4 October 1999, pages 982-985, "Marijuana: A
Continuing Concern for Pediatricians." Pediatrics is the peer-reviewed
journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, representing specialists in
child and youth care.

The British Columbia School Trustees Association (BCSTA) is responsible for
some 600,000 students. We see the problem with marijuana first-hand.

Therefore, at last year's annual general meeting the following motion
passed without dissent. "That BCSTA urge the federal government to shift
its focus on the marijuana debate from adults, to prevention of use among
young people, in light of the serious physical, emotional and intellectual
short- and long-term effects on youth in our schools." The motion was
vetted by Dr. Ray Baker of the BCMA (BC Medical Association) for its accuracy.

Just a reminder: last year at the meeting of the American Society for Cell
Biology, Herbert Schuel of the University of Buffalo, New York reported
that THC-a cannabinoid in marijuana that makes people feel high-and an
endocannabinoid called anadamide both affect the fertilizing potential of
human sperm.

Real men don't smoke pot.

Ted Cooper - Massett Court