ABSTAIN FROM LYING ABOUT MARY JANE

I would like to respond to the article titled, "Dank? No thanks." I
believe parts of this article are misleading. Yes, I do agree with the
short-term effects marijuana has on some people, but how do you
explain the highly educated professionals of this world that smoke?
There are many professionals who are accredited academics, lawyers,
doctors, judges and many more that make smoking a part of their lives.
It's about self-control and moderation. Anyone who lets anything take
control of his or her lives has a problem. Marijuana has shown that it
can help people suffering from certain illnesses. We allow doctors to
give us all kinds of prescription drugs that sometimes do more harm
than good. Considering the list of side effects on most prescription
drugs are quite lengthy. Marijuana is sometimes taken to ease the side
effects that come along with these prescription drugs. We need to use
and treat marijuana as a gift for all people. It is ok if some do not
want to smoke, but o! thers should be able to freely.

Another thing that I did not agree with is that the loss of motor
skills due to marijuana resulted in car accidents. The study that was
quoted from Tenn. Said 33% of reckless drivers tested positive for
marijuana. Yes, this may be the case but if you are somewhat educated
on this subject you would know that depending on the person they may
test positive for up to a month or more. So, even if these people did
test positive, there is no proof that they were under the influence at
the time of the accident. They may have smoked more than a week ago.
Therefore, it is invalid to say that people who test positive for
marijuana are the likely causes of accidents, as it states in
paragraph three.

There was a quote in "Marijuana, Racism and You," that should of never
been used. It read, "Two Negros took a girl fourteen years old and
keep her for two days under the influence of hemp". This is absurd;
the most common misconception of hemp is it is used to get high. No,
this is not true. Hemp is used to produce fibers, oil, cloths, wood
and more. This is something Americans should be taking advantage of.
We have a natural resource that we can use to create all these good
items. Lets get one thing straight, hemp is not marijuana. They may
come from similar plants, but hemp is a word that is used to loosely.
People need to come out from under the fear society has placed on them
and stop being ignorant to the positive uses of hemp and marijuana.
Education is what is going help people see the truth, not fear.

Crystal Sistoni is a junior political science and social science major.