MARIJUANA IS NOT THE DRUG PROBLEM

Editor:

I've been seeing a lot of talk about drugs in the paper, but I think
people need a better definition. Pot really isn't a problem in
Chilliwack--there's actually a fair number of cannabis users in our
area. People smoke from their pipes or toke their joints in parks, on
church steps, around school long after class, and sometimes just
walking down the street. Never has anyone yelled at these people from
my knowledge or even had a problem.

The drug that's the problem is E or ecstasy and in some rare cases
pure MDMA. I'd bet my legs that a good share of the meth from the meth
labs the RCMP are after goes into tabs of E that get passed around
like Advil in the Chilliwack high school hallways.

Pot seems to bring all sorts of groups of teens and adults together
and creates all kinds of circles of friends. E destroys minds and
changes your friends into completely different people.

I'm a marijuana activist and a proud cannabis user so I'll say
it:people should be free to smoke and cultivate their cannabis whether
it is for medical, personal, or recreational purposes.

Lately when you read about cannabis in Canadian news it doesn't seem
that positive unless you're reading a Cannabis Culture or High Times
magazine.

I don't know your views on pot, but I think even you can agree that
cannabis users aren't the stereotypical Cheech and Chong teen
drop-outs anymore--people from all ages and backgrounds seem to enjoy
smoking it now. Not all of these people are unemployed and chronic
smokers. A man who works hard all day, has a son and daughter that
graduated, a wonderful wife, and a home he built himself doesn't
deserve to be called a stoner and accused of being unmotivated and
lazy.

Everyone's stressed about all these drugs so much that the
surprisingly large community of cannabis users are getting accused of
being hard drug users. When someone walks home with red eyes and
people stare and harass them because they think they're on hard drugs,
it's embarrassing and never a good experience.

So, I'm writing with a simple request. I just would like to look
through the Times one morning and read at least one article or part of
one looking at marijuana from both views--the positives, the
negatives, and the possibilities.

Thanks for your time.

Derek L. Vandenberg,

Chilliwack