OTHER, BETTER WAYS TO INGEST MARIJUANA

Liz Philp's letter suggesting that pot causes lung cancer might be a tad of
a stretch. The conclusion of Chapter 7 of the Senate Report, referred to
earlier, states in part: "the committee concludes ... cannabis use presents
no harmful consequences for physical, psychological or social well-being in
either the short or the long term."

Chapter 13, Regulating therapeutic use of cannabis, outlines a category 2
eligibility for medical access for individuals who suffer from specific
symptoms like severe pain, cachexia, anorexia, weight loss and/or severe
nausea, associated with some serious medical conditions which include cancer.

Our Senate concluded that pot does not cause cancer and that some cancer
patients successfully medicate their symptoms with pot.

Irrespective of the views expressed by our Senate, I agree with Ms. Philps
that pot should not be primarily smoked. Inhalation of the vapours of
heated pot through a vaporizer introduces only water vapour and
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) into our lungs. You experience the active
ingredient of pot without any burned paper residue.

The consumption of pot oil, extracted from dried marijuana flowers using
100-per-cent pure alcohol, combined with chocolate, provides an option for
ingesting the active ingredient THC, avoiding the lungs altogether.

Last year, a man in Turkey died from an overdose of sugar. Apparently he
was the "winner" in an all-you-can-eat pastry contest.

Far from causing cancer, the consumption of the dried flowers from a
natural plant is less toxic than most substances, including sugar.

Kevin Bowen

Windsor