IN DEFENCE OF THE 'TREE OF LIFE'

Editor, The News:

In response to the letter to the editor headlined "Marijuana as
medicine a myth," I feel that the author has failed to recognize the
overwhelming studies that have been published lately, that prove the
exact opposite of what he is claiming.

Because of prohibition of this useful plant, unbiased studies were
very hard to come by, until lately.

To better understand the studies that were referred to in the anti-pot
letter, we need to look at the motivation for "conducting" that study.
They are often funded by drug companies, or the American government -
definitely two groups that have our best interests in mind (sarcasm,
in case you didn't realize).

Cannabis - the real name, not the one given by prohibitionists to make
the plant sound more "Mexican" - has been proven to shrink and/or
destroy malignant tumors. It allows patients undergoing chemo to gain
an appetite, and has the same result for people battling anorexia.

The war on this amazing plant, that many people refer to as the tree
of life, needs to end.

All of the misinformation and propaganda that many people hold as
truth needs to be officially removed as fact, and filed where it
belongs - under "lies."

Andrew Brown

Nanaimo