I felt compelled to write after seeing Gary Hines's recent letter,
Worry About Non-Users (Aug. 25).

Earlier this month, Ontario Justice John McCart ruled in my case that
marijuana is relatively harmless and should be decriminalized.
However, Mr. Hines, who unfortunately didn't hear the tremendous
amount of evidence brought forward, feels threatened by a perceived
"doubling of impairment." This simplistic view that "impairment is
impairment regardless of the cause" needs to be addressed.

In terms of driving, people under the influence of alcohol often feel
they can drive while in fact they are intoxicated. On the other hand,
marijuana users become more cautious and will seldom drive if they
feel "too high." A study done by the U.S. National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration in 1993 found that cannabis users, when forced
to drive during the experiments, were more cautious and drove slower
than the control group. It should also be pointed out that saliva
tests have now been developed to assist police in determining if a
driver has been smoking marijuana.

Finally, it should be noted that impairment would certainly not double
if our cannabis laws are finally modernized. According to Justice
McCart, "consumption in so-called `de-criminalized states' does not
increase out of proportion to states where there is no
de-criminalization." Since 70 per cent of Canadians support
decriminalization or legalization according to Health Canada, it's
time for our government to take action.

Chris Clay
London, Ont.