DEALERS JUST LIKE TERRORISTS

Pot propaganda panned, Letters, Jan 21.

This letter posited that our local MP Randy White was one of the most
dangerous men in Canada because of his opposition to legalizing marijuana.
His analysis is ludicrous, but does point to the mindset of the many
overzealous pot proponents.

The most common argument for legalization is that it would put organized
criminals out of business and at the same time would generate gobs of
profit for the government. This profit could then be used to develop
programs to teach our young people not to smoke it.

Wouldn't this be counter-productive? And wouldn't it send a confusing
message to our young people?

Government is already spending untold millions as well as enacting more and
more draconian laws to discourage people from smoking. The logic of adding
another weed to the mix escapes me.

In the last 10 years, a great deal of research on medical use of marijuana
has been presented by the Institute of Medicine, whose members are drawn
from the council of the National Academy of Sciences.

I carefully studied a 15 page report that detailed a great many clinical
studies by highly qualified medical and research scientists.

All researchers were in full agreement that marijuana is a powerful drug
with a variety of effects, that it works well for specific medical
conditions such as those associated with HIV, but that smoking it is not
the best delivery method. All researchers concluded much more testing
needed to be done.

To legalize marijuana for medical use without doing the required
researching and testing demanded for any drug would be unethical. In fact,
it would be against our laws. There was general agreement that, if no other
approved medication worked, people suffering from AIDS or terminal
illnesses should be allowed to smoke marijuana.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse, in a current report on teen use of
marijuana, presents data that should preclude any possibility of legalizing
this drug for recreational purposes.

Users have problems with memory and learning; distorted perception [sight,
sounds, time, touch]; trouble with thinking and problem solving; loss of
motor coordination and increased heart rate.

This report debunks proponent's claims that marijuana is no more, if not
less harmful than tobacco.

Not exactly a valid reason to legalize.

I would caution anyone checking the Internet, to be careful to separate the
wheat from the chaff. If it is not current and is not written by scientists
with the technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the
National Research Council, it is just heresy.

Every criminal organization in the world is involved in the drug trade.
They indirectly and directly cause the death of far more people than
terrorists.

Why then, are they not dealt with in the same manner?

At the very least, our police should be given extraordinary powers of
search and seizure. These organizations use and abuse our laws. Why do we
allow them the full protection of laws they have no respect for?

Al C. Johnson

Abbotsford