MARIJUANA AND OUR YOUNG PEOPLE

It was sad to read about a local high school student being suspended from
school for marijuana use. It reminded me about a recent presentation by
an intelligent young man who works as a Youth Outreach Coordinator to help
people on the streets get of drugs and get on with their lives when they
are ready to do so. Being an ex-addict himself, he warned about the
dangers of cracking down hard on "soft" drugs such as marijuana. He
brought up some excellent points, which I thought would be useful to share
with others.

By cracking down on the use of marijuana, the supply goes down and the
price goes up. With marijuana being hard to get and its price increasing,
people start using "hard" drugs such as cocaine and heroin; and the ones
that can't afford the prices resort to even more harmful substances such as
glue and solvents.

Now, I do not support the use of marijuana, but let's put a few things into
perspective. Recreational drug use is not going to stop, no matter how
hard we clamp down on it or how much we "preach" against it. Marijuana, as
a recreational drug, is much safer than alcohol and is not addictive like
cigarettes are. (By the way, both alcohol and cigarettes are recreational
drugs that are legally sold and consumed!)

How many people have committed violent/non-violent crimes while being
"high" on marijuana as opposed to "hard" drugs like heroin? How many
accidents have been caused by drivers who were high on marijuana as opposed
to ones drunk on alcohol? The users of marijuana are often able to kick
the habit and get on with their lives when they are ready to do so, but how
many drug addicts, alcoholics and cigarette smokers can do the same without
being admitted to treatment centres or counselling like A.A.? How many
need to use other drugs including patches and prescription tablets to help
them overcome their addictions?

Unlike our American neighbors let us question the ineffective and costly
policy of zero tolerance on all illegal drug use. Let us think about the
problem, study it, and come up with effective and long-term solutions that
can be shared with the world, including our neighbors to the south. Now
trying to convince them is not going to be easy, because according to
George Bush, God is always on America's side and they are always right and
they are always good while anything or anyone un-American/anti-American is
always evil and...(Sorry! I got carried away; couldn't help it; had to get
it in - just like the last puff of a cigarette), but we can try.

Well back to the subject of drug abuse; when asked about his solution to
the problem, that young man's response was simple and thought
provoking,"help the kids feel good about themselves, help them love
themselves".

Kourosh Fallahzadeh, Kapuskasing