PLANT MAY BE BENIGN, BUT ITS USE CERTAINLY ISN'T

Editor:

Re: Christopher Foulds' recent column on the legalization of
marijuana, which appeared in the Abbotsford News ("Not all drugs are
equal: How about legal pot?'):

I am one of thousands of Canadians who oppose the praise of
marijuana, especially when it is praised as being a "benign plant."

True, a plant in itself can be benign, but the use thereof can have
deleterious results.

Having lived for a time in the delta area of the Amazon River's mouth
in Brazil, we saw first-hand how the use of a benign plant like sugar
cane (the basis of a sugar) can ruin lives when the juice is
fermented in the form of rum.

A drink now and then, as harmless at it might have seemed to someone,
inevitably led to addiction, fights, destroyed familiesand even death.

We support all who face the reality of the use of pot, facing the
truth of the results of its fumes.

Statistics abound on the adverse medical and psychological effects of its use.

It is widely recognized as the gateway to most cases of the use of
stronger drugs. Many who begin with marijuana move on to more harmful
drugs, with their history of destroying lives and morals.

It would seem that the tobacco plant is quite benign, but look at the
results of its use through the years.

The same can be said of barley - good for food, benign as can be. But
misused to make alcohol, and the results are anything but innocent.

Ask someone whose loved one was killed by a drunk driver.

We hope people will consider this matter with a view of the greatest
good for the largest number of people, without an "out" for
individuals who would argue for the so-called human-rights issue and
thus praise for a basically harmful plant because of the way it is used.

W. T. Laskowski

Abbotsford