MARIJUANA IS AS BAD AS IT SEEMS

Re: "Marijuana Myths Abound", opinion page, The Stonewall Argus and
Teulon Times, April 9, 2010.

After reading Marijuana Myths Abound, the only part of it that I
found of any real merit was the closing quote: "The best stress
reliever, however, is a strong community - of family, friends and
acquaintances. Love remains the elixir that unburdens us. Now there's
an addiction we can all live with." Excellent quote, however the
rest, I feel, is highly misinformed.

Marijuana IS a gateway drug but not under the same meaning as it used
to be. Marijuana, especially here in Manitoba, is easily laced with
heavier drugs such as cocaine and crystal meth. Both of these drugs
are highly addictive and can trigger an addiction in just one use.
Crystal meth itself has the capabilities to kill a user in just one
dose. So it is not that the use of marijuana leads to the use of
other drugs, it is that marijuana use can be used in conjunction with
these heavier, more dangerous drugs. This is the underlying problem
with marijuana use.

The medical facts on marijuana are well documented. It is known that
marijuana contains the same cancerous compounds that can be found in
regular cigarettes, but with the lack of a filter and the holding of
the breath to absorb as much THC as possible, marijuana smoking is
often thought to be more detrimental to your health than regular
cigarette smoking.

The point about decriminalizing marijuana is a valid one. It would
take it out of the drug dealers hands and could be government
regulated to ensure safe use and safe production.

The debate on this topic could go on forever, however we must realize
this is not the 70's, this is the 2000's and we are dealing with a
new breed of drugs and drug dealers. Dealers don't care about the
well-being of their users, only that there is lots of easy money to
be made and the faster they move you into the heavy drugs, the more
money they will make. Drugs are made more potent than ever and are
being offered to kids and teens who are easily manipulated and impressionable.

The point of programs like Champions (where high school students talk
to grade 5's about drugs and alcohol) is to give as much information
to these kids as possible to make good decisions when dealing with
drugs and alcohol. Numbers are not just pulled out of the air, they
are hard facts done by qualified individuals and to make an
accusation that they are pulled out of thin air is a spit in the face
to those who have done it.

In the end it is up to the person who is confronted with this to make
a decision. I know people, as the writer of the article does too, who
use marijuana and it has little to no effect on their daily lives.
These are not the people I worry about. It is the youth of tomorrow
who come up against this and don't know the effects that I worry about.

But 70% of all statistics are made up, so we shouldn't worry......

Jared Bruce

Stonewall, MB