ONE TOKE OVER THE LINE

Today, while I was thinking about the Aug. 28 Celebrate Life
walk/run/bike fundraiser organized by the Fairplay Pregnancy Resource
Center, I was AM radio station-surfing in my car and heard a radio
commentator advocate blanket legalization of marijuana.

He said he has never smoked pot and never will, but he believes it to
be infinitely less dangerous than alcohol.

Now, like just about everyone in Colorado, which has legalized medical
marijuana, I know people who have the credentials that allow them to
buy pot at dispensaries. And to my knowledge, not one of those
individuals has committed a crime while stoned. In fact, if I didn't
know many of them had the cards, I wouldn't even know they smoked marijuana.

To be honest, it hasn't been a huge concern of mine one way or the
other if someone smokes pot for medicinal or any other reason. Just
don't do it in my house or car or in my direct proximity, because I
don't like smoke.

(And in case you're wondering, I will answer "yes" and "yes" to the
two questions Bill Clinton was asked during his first presidential
campaign. I also chain-smoked cigarettes and had other habits and
pastimes that were unwise choices. Past tense.)

But even though pot's effects are quite unlike those of alcohol -
adults rarely become violent on pot - and the commentator quipped that
instead of robbing convenience stores, pot smokers are far more likely
to be parked on a couch, watching TV and eating cheese puffs, toking
up is not without side effects on bystanders.

Think about it. In the case of alcohol, which I'm not advocating,
children who are in the same room as someone drinking a beer will
become inebriated only if they, too, drink the beer. But children in
the same room as someone smoking pot?

I found the following online by doing a simple search. You can go to
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_second_hand_marijuana_smoke_harmful_to_children
to find more information and check my research.

For my part, this study, provided by Prop 65 in California, compares
second-hand pot smoke first to second-hand tobacco smoke and then
looks at the effects of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary
psychoactive substance in marijuana) on kids. These, by the way, would
be the same kids who need to do homework and should be getting
physical activity.

"Marijuana has recently (June, 2009) been added to the Proposition 65
list of chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer.
Second-hand marijuana smoke contains 50 percent to 70 percent more
harmful chemicals than tobacco smoke," the site says.

You can check http://oehha.ca.gov/Prop65/docs_state/mjcrnr061909.html
for additional information.

Answers.com goes on to say, "Children can be affected differently than
adults. While large doses of THC act as a CNS (central nervous system)
depressant, lower levels of THC can act as a stimulant, so kids can go
around talking incessantly when exposed to a parent's smoke.
Teenagers' mood swings can get worse, and some kids become forgetful,
angry, or violent after having been in a smoke-filled party room."

There is a separate site that addresses second-hand smoke, tobacco and
pot, on pregnant women and unborn babies.

Which brings me full-circle to the fundraiser on Aug. 28, a
celebration of life's sanctity and a commitment to the health of women
and children.

I am not condemning pot smokers. That's not my job. But I am pointing
out what I think is the obvious: exposing kids to second-hand smoke
is, in the words of Brewer and Shipley, "one toke over the line."

Thank You, Lord, for the freedoms this great nation affords us - for
the radio commentator to express his opinion and for me to express
mine. Thank You for wisdom, for compassion and for Your amazing grace.

Amen. Hallelujah.