Author: Wayne Osborne

THE LAW, NOT POT, IS THE PROBLEM

We need to take cannabis out of the hands of criminals.

When not used to further the agendas of criminals and law enforcement
officers alike, cannabis is a relatively harmless creation of nature. That
is, relative to the harm that criminal activity and the resulting War On
Drugs has imposed upon society.

It wasn't cannabis that recently killed four police officers.

It was a violent criminal who was exploiting the illegal status of
cannabis. It wasn't cannabis that broke down the doors of innocent people,
killed their pets and traumatized their children.It was police officers
with the wrong address.

Violence and criminal activity is hurting our society, not a simple plant
called cannabis.

When not being exploited by criminals and the War On Drugs, cannabis can
naturally supply us quality fibers for textiles, high quality foods, and
medicine.

Fibers from hemp cultivars are used for producing highly durable paper and
fabrics, the environmental benefits alone make this worth further utilization.

As our society becomes more aware of the healthy protein and fatty acid
profiles of our food supply, hemp seed is becoming more of an obvious
source of nutrition - for both us and our livestock.

That combined with the numerous documented medicinal qualities, widespread
access to cannabis seed and medicine could significantly reduce the
financial stress load on our healthcare system.

This isn't to say that cannabis is totally harmless. It isn't.

While it can help some cancer patients fight their disease, I got to watch
it hasten my own father's death.

He had lung cancer and because he didn't have access to quality information
about marijuana and how to use it, he mistakenly smoked cannabis to fight
the cancer instead of eating it.

Unfortunately for a case of lung cancer, smoking cannabis was like adding
gasoline to a fire.

Maybe if the scientific and health communities could openly research,
discuss, and recommend cannabis, my father would have had access to better
advice and still be alive chasing his dreams.

Wayne Osborne,

Qualicum Beach