Herb or Hops?

As Major Universities Face Referenda to Treat Both Recreational
Substances the Same, IDS Columnists Wonder, Are They Really?

DANGERS OF DOPING

My ceramics class last year took a turn for the worst when I realized
that everybody at my table was forming pieces with their creative
spirits and artistic fingers.

I am not talking about bowls or flowerpots. I'm talking about pipe
pieces.

Knowing what smoking pot can do to people, I naturally got very upset
when I heard about campus proposals by a group in Colorado called SAFER.

SAFER is attempting to legalize marijuana -- or at least warrant it
the same penalty as a minor would get for underage drinking. To me,
this sends a message to the public that smoking marijuana is as
harmless as a couple of beers. Many people try pot or continue to use
it because they think it's "safer" than drinking alcohol.

And really, what is safer than a quadrupled chance of a heart attack
in the first hour after smoking pot?

Don't get me wrong. I am a firm believer that neither alcohol nor pot
is a good decision. But what makes people think that lung damage is
less traumatizing than liver damage?

According to research from the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, both
alcohol and marijuana have many short-term and long-term effects --
most of these effects being undesirable.

So why don't we all get high on life and forget about the temporary
feelings of relaxation that marijuana can bring? Real happiness is
only an ice cream away.