PRICKY POTHEADS

It sure doesn't take long for the potheads to complain when anyone
criticizes their beloved weed. Well, let me inject some reality into
the debate.

After working in high schools for over 20 years, I can state without
hesitation that students who are daily, chronic smokers of pot almost
always begin a pattern of non-attendance as their use progresses,
show a steady decline in their marks over a full range of subjects
and usually end up dropping out of school altogether.

The more they smoke, the more they lose their ambition and
motivation. It's why marijuana is referred to as the "dumb high" and
why chronic users are referred to (by their own peers by the way) as
"burnouts."

And while it may not be physically addicting, marijuana does build a
tolerance for the drug over time and creates a powerful psychological
addiction.

Hardly a safe and harmless drug.

DAVID TAYLOR-YOUNG

WINNIPEG

(No drug is safe and harmless.)