USE OF MARIJUANA FOR ITS BENEFITS WILL BE A FACT IN OUR SOCIETY IN THE FUTURE

To the editor:

This letter is in response to Paul Latimer's column published in the
July 22 Capital News (Marijuana Use Among Teenagers More than a Casual
Habit).

I would firstly like to applaud Paul for his concern over young minds
and the direction today's teens are heading, however; I couldn't help
but feel some contradiction to disputable "facts" about marijuana in
his column.

Despite quoting U.S. statistics for increased cannabis use among teens
in the States, he failed to provide relevance for Canadian youth,
stating only the percentage of teens that have used or do indulge in
marijuana on a regular basis. The reason probably being that for quite
some time now, marijuana has remained in a grey area in Canada.
Possession and use of cannabis remains illegal yet, considering the
apathetic state Canadians seem to harbor towards the subject, hints
that no one really cares.

The main point to be addressed here is: "Is it beneficial for teens to
indulge in marijuana recreationally?"

The answer is probably not. Cannabis use among teens is linked to
impairments in developing brains, change of attitude, negative social
surroundings and things of that sort (although this mostly occurs in
the case of frequent and prolonged use).

It is not ideal to spend copious amounts of time getting "high" as a
teen when education, life-planning, positive social interactions and
recreational activities exist to offer long term benefits, as opposed
to a brief "euphoria."

Paul offered some examples of the negative effects of smoking cannabis
but nothing truly serious, in my opinion. If you were, however,
comparing marijuana to alcohol (which is possibly even more rampant
among youth), then consider the negative effects associated with booze
for teens: Drunk driving, violent parties, irrational decisions and
physical dependency on an extreme level given enough time.

Perhaps, then, occasional marijuana use among teens is better than the
alternative--the consequences of alcohol.

Regardless, marijuana is not without its purposes. Not to say that it
is an all-around healing agent but consider the facts. Paul states
that cannabis use is not good for you physically or mentally. This is
not entirely true as even our own government has recognized and
approved the use of medicinal marijuana to treat a variety of illnesses.

Is it not then hypocritical to keep illegal something that we do
approve of in certain circumstances? That to me sounds a little
conflicting.

The point I'm trying to make here is, marijuana use is not ideal among
teens--yes. However, is it better than alcohol misuse by today's youth?

On top of that, the benefits to those who use medical marijuana are
immense.

Education is the key to understanding and it's important to remove
preconceived and outdated notions and assumptions about cannabis and
instead, look at the real facts of today.

While teens continue their routine schooling, it's also important they
receive proper education on marijuana and its benefits, as evidence
clearly suggests cannabis will become an intricate part of our society
in the years to come and today's teens, will be the ones overseeing
such an infrastructure tomorrow.

Brandon Krogel,

Kelowna