LET'S FACE IT, MARIJUANA IS HARMFUL

Editor:

People with addictive personalities are very likely to experiment
with substances other than alcohol.

Here's the bottom line from an addict's perspective:
pot-cannabis-marijuana is a mind and mood altering substance, period.
Let's cut the crap about "high grade, low grade", etc. That's like
comparing the alcohol content of light beer to rye whisky.

It is no better or worse than any other substance. It can and does
lead to experimentation with other drugs with predictable results.

Long term usage is known to have side effects that include paranoia
and other personality changes. Don't think so? Look at the behaviour
and criminal records of some of the long term users you know. How
about looking in the mirror? Has it really added to your life in a
positive manner?

The fact is, alcohol is legal, cannabis is not and we all know the
price society pays for alcohol abuse. Growing pot is not a
"victimless crime" as some think. It leads to theft of electricity
through unsafe line taps, fires and severe damage to property. It is
marketed by organized criminals, people with no respect for law in general.

It could be argued legalizing it would cure the problem, but that
isn't likely to happen any time soon. Prohibition of alcohol resulted
in creating large scale criminal moonshine and bootlegging operations
controlled by criminals.

Insofar as workplace drug tests go, traces of cannabis are probably
no more indicative of a problem than the symptoms of a hangover from
over-indulgence in alcohol. In both cases, the individual is probably
not at his/her best in performing job functions. This can and does
have an affect on the safety of others, hence the policy of zero
tolerance by employers. Many companies offer employees assistance in
dealing with substance abuse problems to include drugs as well as
alcohol. They don't want to lose experienced people or suffer
lost-time injuries and decreased productivity.

A responsible teacher is obligated to refer a student with a drug or
alcohol problem to the school counsellor. In Alcoholics Anonymous and
Narcotics Anonymous we know drug and alcohol abuse are occurring at a
young age. Peer pressure and the example set by irresponsible adults
are contributory factors. Failure to recognize and deal with juvenile
substance abuse simply delays the problem from being dealt with until
later in adult life.

The fact is, marijuana can lead to addiction for many and is a
problem for society as a whole.

Todd

Quesnel