MARIJUANA: BETTER DEEMED WORSE

Dear Editor,

Frank G. Sterle, Jr., wrote "People with schizophrenia who consumed a lot
of cannabis had a much worse outcome than those who didn't." [Harmless
assumptions legitimized, April 25 Letters to the Editor, Langley Advance News]

I don't believe those patients smoked cannabis in order to feel worse, not
better. Obviously, here the term "outcome" has a different meaning for the
patient than for the doctor, unlike in illnesses like an inflamed appendix.
There is no doubt about the "outcome" of an appendicitis: either you have
surgery or die.

With schizophrenia, the patient can say, "I smoke cannabis because it makes
me feel better," while the doctor says, "No, you don't feel better, you
just think you feel better, while in reality, you're worse."

But of course, Sterle's letter isn't really about schizophrenics at all. He
is waving a veil before our eyes, trying to mislead the reader to form a
negative opinion about cannabis.

Needless to say, millions upon millions of non-schizophrenic pot smokers
enjoy the good weed without "bad outcomes," other than being treated as
fair game and feed for the police.

As for the "impressionable youth," ever the pretext since at least
Socrates, Mr. Sterle need not worry. They are quite capable of unraveling
his simple sophistry.

Harry D. Fisher
Woodland Hills, CA, USA