TELL KIDS THE TRUTH ABOUT MARIJUANA

Re: OPP D.A.R.E.S. kids to avoid drugs - Aug. 31.

I applaud anyone's effort to keep kids off of drugs, but many of these
so-called "drug education programs" have proven to cause more harm
than good.

As a federal medical marijuana license holder who is also married to
one, I resent the non-factual information on marijuana, and the "all
use is abuse" attitude that they usually adopt.

Adults, especially police, have lost all credibility when it comes to
drugs, because they lie and exaggerate the so-called "dangers" of
marijuana. They tell kids that marijuana "is ten times more potent
than before," will cause cancer, schizophrenia, impotence, permanent
stupidity, and an addiction to hard drugs. The fact is, marijuana has
never, ever, killed anyone.

When kids discover the truth on their own (which is just a Google
search away), they will realize they have been systematically lied to
by people they once trusted. They will likely conclude that if adults
lied about Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, and marijuana, they must be
lying about meth, crack, heroin, ecstasy, booze, weapons, extreme
sports, safe-sex and safe-driving, too. And who can blame them?

We live in a "drug culture" that advertises booze, fast cars, fast
food, violent movies and video games, and drugs of all kinds on TV!
Then we tell kids "Say no to drugs." We give kids Ritalin, instead of
just reducing their sugar and Game-Boy intake, and then tell them,
"marijuana is dangerous!" They see right though this hypocrisy. A ruse
by any other name...

For those keen on educating kids about drugs - without all the
fear-mongering, hyperbole, and absurd hypocrisy of the standard "drug
education" programs - I recommend the Educators For Sensible Drug
Policy website at www.efsdp.org.

Russell Barth,

Ottawa