THE EMBRACING OF MARIJUANA

Operation resurrection! This is the term that describes in a very
graphic fashion the attempt to decriminalise marijuana. There are many
political parties who have vowed to ease the pressure on the weed.
Some writers are dreaming of the day when it could be placed in the
fields, in the yards, in schools, even in prisons.

The marijuana lobbyists are ignoring the results of the latest
research that shows the relationship between marijuana and
schizophrenia. Researchers such as Nahas, Sulkowski, Morishima have
shown that marijuana smoking is as catastrophic as tobacco smoking.
They have stated that marijuana smokers suffer from bronchitis,
emphysema, lung cancer and other cancers, damage to the T-lymphocytes,
damage to the limbic system of the brain that is responsible for
short-term memory and emotional stability.

It is a fact that the United Kingdom has developed a unique legal
approach which can be described as "selective discrimination", while
Holland has developed a more liberal strategy.

Some media gurus have been trying to paint marijuana with a "harmless,
sweetheart" brush. But you could jump high, you could jump low, the
sad truth is that millions of marijuana smokers have blasted their
brains with the herb, better pronounced "erb".

Experts have demonstrated that marijuana is more than a "gateway'
drug, leading to the higher, harder stuff. It produces the
"motivational" syndrome, where the capacity to dream is affected. Many
youth leave school and join the gang and prostitution culture where
their smoking preference is enhanced.

It is an earthquaking development that many university professors,
politicians, and even some dysfunctional religious leaders should
support the attempts to bless marijuana. There is no evidence that
Haile Selassie smoked marijuana or encouraged his followers to blast
their brains with the stuff.

We are addressing the damaging effects caused by smoking marijuana.
Chemical substances, such as Canasol used in the treatment of
glaucoma, are not being attacked. Since marijuana smoking has impacted
negatively on millions of our youth in different cultures, we should
stay far from the practice of intellectual dishonesty.

For years, medical researchers have known about the impact of
delta9-THC. This is one of the major psychotropic ingredients in
marijuana. It attacks brain cells as well as the white blood cells. We
must not lock ourselves in the prison of derail.

The habit of smoking marijuana is like a savage, psychotic boxer --
blows to the brain producing a mad range of instability -- from
paranoia to schizophrenia. Blows to the white blood cells damaging our
immune system -- blows to the heart and blows to the liver -- what
next?

Then we have the brutal issue of the "black' cigarette: mixing the
cocaine with the marijuana. This phenomenon must provide enough cause
for concern. A lot is being said about "passive" tobacco smoking, but
what about "passive" marijuana smoking?

Let all be warned that we are in for a rough ride, as the marijuana
debate experiences "operation resurrection".