IN THE GRIP OF 'POT'

Best On Tuesday --

IT IS SETTLED that much of the crime in Barbados is drug-related,
whether the drug of choice is cocaine or marijuana; and that among
the young people, marijuana use is accounting for most of their
delinquency.

A few days ago, Magistrate Faith Marshall-Harris drew attention to
the problems created when juveniles used "pot", noting that "the
child who is wandering, the child who is not performing in school,
the child who is now stealing and so on ..... that in fact drugs are
a major engine of juvenile offences".

She went on to warn the country that it was a trend that prevailed
right across society with the problems surfacing mainly among the 13
to 17 age-group.

Her observations about the problems "pot" was posing among teenagers
were disturbing enough but still there will be those among us who
might want to shrug it all off as just deja vu, as this approach
would also confirm that we have become a society in which the use of
"pot" is highly tolerated, along with the use of alcohol, with the
use of "pot" regarded as illegal while alcohol is not.

Our tolerance of alcoholic use tends to place the onus on the user
for not being able "to hold his drinks", if and when the worst
results from its use. The fear is that smoking "pot" could see us
adopting a similar approach if we are not careful.

Already there is a school of thought that "pot" users should be left
to smoke if they want to, and this group does draw attention to
society's tolerance of alcohol beverages when making a case that the
use of "pot" should be legal. Yet, among medical sources the use of
"pot" continues to emerge as being more detrimental to users than the
use of alcohol.

The argument here is that while alcohol does create problems for the
human body, the process in doing so is slower than it is with "pot"
and while addiction to alcohol also has to be considered, the
addiction to "pot" is faster and more devastating.

However, not to be put off, the "pot" school points out that the drug
also has some medicinal value just as might be claimed for alcohol
but they seldom accept that research has shown that brain cells break
down faster and the devastation is more widespread among "pot" users.

Furthermore, while it is accepted that we have problems in society
with both drugs, ongoing research has shown that while alcohol can
and does undermine the functions of the liver of heavy users, a heavy
use of "pot" is now linked to chronic lung disease -- including
emphysema and cancer.

Let us not forget that in a number of countries tobacco use is also
not favoured but it is also noted that "pot" users have been mixing
"pot" with tobacco when smoking, and reports out of Britain have been
claiming that this "complicates the situation".

There is no reason to believe that this "complication" is not part of
the Barbados "pot" scene, and it should be noted that the researchers
claim that there is a higher risk of lung cancer for those who smoke
one joint a day compared to those who smoked 20 cigarettes a day
over the same period.

The researchers, in accounting for the difference, suggested that it
was because "pot" smokers inhaled more deeply and for longer periods
than cigarette smokers.

One aspect of the argument against the use of "pot", according to the
researchers, is that more attention has been paid to the effects of
"pot" on the brain than what its use can do to the lungs.

Which brings us back to another suggestion made by Marshall-Harris
about how we should deal with the problem of illegal drug use. She
said that the drugs should not only be highlighted as illegal but it
should be pointed out that they are detrimental to one's health.

Her point is valid. But then we find that in spite of what research
has shown about the detrimental effects of "going to pot", many of
our people -- young and old -- do not hearken to advice. They prefer
to be "high" rather than healthy.

Robert Best is a former managing editor of the Barbados Advocate.