NO GOOD REASON WHY MARIJUANA SHOULD BE ILLEGAL

Editor, The Record:

Re: Proposed Pot Laws Not Welcome, by Jason Roessle.

There is no good reason why marijuana should remain an illegal substance in
our modern society.

There are some harms associated with it's chronic use, but I invite you to
explore the evidence presented by the Canadian Senate which well documents
the harms of the drug itself versus the harms of prohibition.

Furthermore, I don't see it as appropriate that the heavy hand of criminal
law be used to protect our health by restricting such choises.

I suppose what it comes down to is, no matter what the law is regarding
cannabis, I, myself and many others will continue to disobey and disrespect
such laws that we see as unjust and an inappropriate invasion of our
personal freedoms and privacy.

Marijuana is a plant which I have easily grown in my garden. I have baked
cookies, brownies and used tar reduction devices such as steam vapourisers
to ingest the active ingredients with minimal harms.

It seems absurd to me that our government and police force actively pursue
Canadians for interaction with a specific kind of plant.

There are many other plants in my garden that are poisonous to both pets and
people, yet they are not controlled in the same fashion because people are
not using the plants for the same kind of pleasurable experiences that
marijuana is used for.

In essence, it appears to be a morality war against the people, directed
with little care regarding harms but instead the realm of controlling our
minds and how we think.

It is common to see people against marijuana use imposing their views and
restrictions on others, proclaiming that we shouldn't use cannabis, that it
is dangerous and harmful.

Youth who use cannabis and learn through experimentation how benign the drug
can be are then led to believe that the police and politicians are wrong,
that adults have inaccurate information.

Telling the truth and reducing the harms associated with cannabis use is the
only sensible way to educate people. Criminalizing it's use has caused
widespread disrespect of the law, a law which millions of Canadians will
continue to defy each year.

Barry Carvish,

Victoria