SOCIAL CONSCIENCE

As the government of the day is looking into uses of marijuana, I would
like to share the results of a study conducted in the 1960s by the U.S.
Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

Marijuana is a natural drug known to man for over 5,000 years. It was used
in China to relieve pain during surgery and in India as a medicine.

The long-term physical effects are still under study and not yet fully
known. Some obvious physical reactions include rapid heart beat, lowering
body temperatures, reddening of the eyes. It changes blood sugar levels,
stimulates the appetite and dehydrates the body. Users may become loud,
unsteady and drowsy, and find it hard to co-ordinate their movements. It
affects judgment. It is dangerous to drive while under the influence of the
drug.

On a recent TV program, it was pointed out that marijuana use usually led
to harder drugs. A study in 1967 showed that 80 per cent of narcotic
addicts had previously used marijuana.

This is my social conscience speaking and I don't want the drug used in our
society for purposes other than medicinal, and under the same regulations
as any other drug used as a medicine.

Bea Larder, New Ross