PARANOID BEHAVIOUR DUE TO MARIJUANA PROHIBITION

Editor: I would like to clarify a few points concerning A. Brown's
"Wake Up Call" to the parents of Langley teens (The Times, June 20).

I will work through the letter chronologically for the sake of logic,
something I believe was sorely missing from the letter.

One of the most commonly used arguments for marijuana prohibition is
that marijuana use causes paranoid behaviour. The remedy offered is
that parents drive by to stalk their children.

For the record, it is prohibition that causes paranoia, not THC (the
active ingredient in marijuana). As for the generic, unspecific claim
of laced marijuana, I would like to put this issue to rest once and
for all. There is nothing to gain for dealers lacing their pot with
other more expensive, rarer substances. Again, logic can go a long way.

The only possible adulterant in marijuana would be PCP, as
methamphetamine cannot be consumed in the same methods as marijuana
and would simply burn. The same goes for cocaine and virtually every
other substance that is used as a scare tactic.

And as far as PCP goes, it is a possibility, I will not claim
otherwise. That is only true if one goes out of their way to look for it.

And if that is the case with your child, there are more important
questions you have to ask.

Moving on, how dare A. Brown say that our young people are turning
Langley into the downtown eastside? Attitudes like the kind proposed
have turned homelessness into such a problem in the first place.

Archaic, retribution-style parenting is what gets children kicked out
of their home or emotionally damaged to the point of using hard drugs
in the first place.

I write this letter to give my own wake-up call to not only the
parents, but the teens of Langley as well. Get the real information
about issues such as this.

With the evolution of technology providing us with such an
information source as the Internet, and print mediums such as this,
maybe we can all wake up and stop being anesthetized. Is it not your
duty to be educated as a member of a democratic society?

Travis Erbacher,

Langley