LEGALIZE MARIJUANA? NO WAY MAN

Until marijuana is declared to be a legal substance in Canada, the medical
establishment and those who are charged with the responsibility of
dispensing justice will continue to butt heads over its use for medicinal
purposes.

For some context in this matter, one needs only to take a backward glance
to 1919 when the Volstead Act was made law in the US, outlawing the sale of
liquor.

Prohibition was an absolute disaster, but what made this vast social
experiment all the more weird was the fact that Congress in its legislation
provided a loophole that allowed Americans the opportunity to drink alcohol
for medicinal purposes. Suddenly, everyone and their uncle had a little
tickle in their throat or a sore back that demanded immediate attention.

We suspect the same would occur in Canada today if marijuana use was
permitted if prescribed by a doctor. Those who have legitimate need of the
narcotic's soothing qualities would be vastly outnumbered by every pothead
from here to British Columbia.

Canada's justice department is only doing its job by continuing to keep
marijuana use illegal in this country. By erring on the side of caution,
bureaucrats are attempting to ensure that marijuana, if used for medicinal
purposes, would be administered within an environment that's closely and
profressionally monitored. Anything less than that would result in chaos.

Part of the problem, in our opinion, is that we don't know enough about the
herbal benefits of a great many other plants. Marijuana is only one of
thousands upon thousands of plants which hold a great potential for medical
use. Our society has only scratched the surface in this regard, and we
wonder how many other plants would offer the same benefits, as found in
marijuana, to a dying individual.

But we just don't know. Through our ignorance and unwillingness to think
beyond conventional terms, we've managed as a society to relegate too many
useful herbs and plants to the trash heap of potential.

Recently, we heard that milkweed was harvested during the Second World War
because its silk was used to make parachutes. How many other so-called
useless weeds could have been harvested for the war effort?

Marijuana can provide a measure of compassionate relief to those who are
terminally ill. We're in agreement on that point. But because so much of
our drug culture is based on this single herb, and because marijuana
cultivation, marijuana possession, and marijuana use continue to be illegal
in Canada, we'd best be very cautious in administering its sanctioned use.