POT DEBATE LIGHTS UP

Here it is, the marijuana debate. In Canada it is a highly controversial
subject. The United Kingdom beat Canada to the punch on October 29th, by
downgrading marijuana to a class C drug, making arrests only possible in
aggravating situations, like smoking it near a school or playground. Canada
has similar legislation on the table to decriminalize marijuana possession.
This is not to be confused with legalization; decriminalization means that
no criminal record will be kept for possession, but fines will still be
handed out. These fines will be $150 for an adult and $100 for a youth, if
the pot in possession does not exceed 15 grams and there are no aggravating
factors.

There are many places in the world where similar laws are already in place:
Spain, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Germany,
Switzerland, Denmark, France, and the aforementioned U.K. There are, of
course, places where the drug is legal, most infamously Amsterdam. There
are cafes there and pot can be purchased most places where one can get
cigarettes. What a lot of people don't know is that people are starting to
call Vancouver "Vamsterdam". Vancouver was recently the host of "Tokers
Bowl II", when people came from all over the world to participate in the
cannabis friendly event.

Participants paid $500 American, and were outfitted with a huge sample bowl
filled with 23 varieties of potent B.C. bud. Many in attendance did not pay
the entrance fee, and just came to enjoy the festivities. The base for the
"Tokers Bowl" was the British Columbia Marijuana Party headquarters and
bookstore. All around and inside the building were bongs, pipes,
vaporizers, rolling products, seeds, fertilizers, and of course, B.C. bud.
This shows how relaxed the laws are getting in Canada, and is in the
forefront of the debate involving possible legalization of marijuana.

A big question to be answered now is, what does it do? Why are people so
fixated with this five-leaved plant? Much research has been done into the
drug's effects, but only some of it can be taken into account. In the last
few years, the United States' National Institute of Drug Abuse has been
doing extensive testing with synthetic THC, (one of the active
ingredients), sprayed onto immature marijuana plants. Much of this research
has been debated on the grounds that people are not smoking synthetic THC -
they are smoking pot.

The results from these tests as released by the American Medical
Association include panic reactions, psychosis, impaired educational
attainment, damage to the immune system, and many more side effects. This
being said, in the last 20 years of Surgeon General's reports, not a single
person has died as a direct result of smoking marijuana.

This leads us to possible positive side effects. Very little testing has
been done to find possible uses for the drug, but it has been shown to be
an effective painkiller, an appetite stimulant, and an antidepressant. As
with the negative effects, there are other positives, but these are not
without challenge. Marijuana use has been shown in some cases to improve
the quality of life for some terminally ill patients and can be obtained
legally through the government if the patient can be helped by the drug.
Marijuana does not cure terminally ill patients, but it can alleviate symptoms.

The sick have been forming groups to grow and distribute marijuana. There
are several throughout Canada, in the United States, and here in
Lethbridge, the local centre being the Krieger Foundation. It was founded
over two and a half years ago by Grant W. Krieger, a pot activist. With six
branches across Canada and over 300 members, it is small in caparison to
many collectives such as The B.C. Compassion Club Society, which has well
over 2,000 members.

Membership in these has some unofficial recognition among police
authorities but as always, it is up to the discretion of the officer. The
web site for the Krieger Foundation is www.kriegarfoundation.org.

Critics of Marijuana use have said that it contains 420 chemicals that go
into the body, and medical science has not identified all of them or what
they do. No one is entirely sure of all the effects on the body, and much
debate surrounds all new findings. Until more is known about cannabis use,
it will remain the personal choice of individuals to use it or not, and in
Canada, that could be a risky business.