CANNABIS SUPPORTERS DESERVE TOLERANCE, TOO

I wasn't going to respond to Mr. Capp's letter (June 19) but, after a
day of contemplation, felt the that I must.

Firstly I am very tolerant of everything, hence my activism for
cannabis. It would be hard to be so active if I was unaccepting; as
people of all walks of life come out - young, old, gay, straight,
green, yellow - I will accept anyone, and their opinion.

But when someone is writing outright lies about a misunderstood
subject, it really angers me! Yes, there are studies that show if you
have schizophrenia, cannabis will enhance psychosis. Studies have now
proven it doesn't cause schizophrenia.

Like any medication, it doesn't work for everyone. Studies have shown
that it is rather effective for many mental-health disorders, such as
ADD, ADHD, depression and anxiety. In a perfect world, we would have
no substance abuse; this includes caffeine, tobacco, alcohol. But our
children are not going to be more interested in drugs if they are
legal. Other countries such as Portugal have found their crime and
consumption rates decrease due to legalizing small amounts of all
drugs. Mexico has followed suit.

The only way to stop these organized criminals is to take their
product away! Legalize and regulate and get it off the street.

I would no more want to see my children smoking, drinking or doing
drugs than the next parent, but as parents and as humans, we all know
that in some cases there is just no stopping them. Educating your
children about these subjects is key, but to expect that there will
never be usage of these things is just impossible. So we must be
accepting of all opinions, as well as freedom of choice, which is all
we are asking for.

Tamara Cartwright,
Taber