POT NOT A GOOD THING

Let's hope no young people read the Sunday letter to the editor, "Pot
hysteria," in which the reader would have us believe marijuana is
almost as harmless as bottled water.

Mental health professionals who work with substance abuse and
addiction know this is nonsense. People who never use street/illicit
drugs of any kind don't run the risk of having to try to stop themselves.

Smoking marijuana may not automatically turn someone into a Class-A
addict. But all too often it is the first step on a journey that
twists and turns along back alleys, shelters, hospitals, prison cells
and morgues.

But there are addicts, then there are addicts . The average gas
station, for example, caters to various addictions. These stores
stockpile cigarettes, beer, lottery tickets, rolling paper and cigars.
And let's not forget the soft drinks and other sugary treats.

We know life places before us many opportunities to stumble and fall.
For many, marijuana is chief among these stumbling blocks. If the road
to hell is paved with good intentions, the lanes must be marked with
good feelings.

Not to over-simplify, but alcohol and other drugs make users feel
better -- at least initially. And marijuana, primarily known for its
feel-good effects, may reel in some users who think they can quit any
time they want to.

In 1999, marijuana was the drug most commonly used by male and female
juvenile arrestees. More than half of the males and nearly 40 percent
of the females tested positive for marijuana, says Merrill Norton,
president of the Georgia Addiction Counselors Association and
president of Chemical Health Associates, a national consulting
organization for alcohol and drug services. Norton recently traveled
from his Atlanta office to Columbus for a workshop.

One of the positives of smoking marijuana or other forms of cannabis
is that it usually has lighter effects than those of many other
recreational pychoactive substances, Norton says. "People are
generally capable of carrying out normal actions and activities while
high."

The experiences of people who smoke cannabis include mood lifts,
stress reduction, increased awareness of senses (eating, drinking,
smell), pain relief (headaches, cramps), and reduced nausea (used
medically for this), he says.

But there are negatives: nausea, coughing, asthma, upper respiratory
problems, difficulty with short term memory, racing heart, agitation,
tenseness, mild to severe anxiety, headaches, dizziness, paranoia. And
possible psychological dependence on cannabis.

No, pot smokers aren't committing armed robberies to get money to
smoke, but that doesn't mean there is no downside to it. A counselor
of children and adolescents once said, "If you start smoking pot in
high school, you never finish anything. If you start smoking pot in
college, you never complete anything."

But some addicts say if you start smoking pot period, you may spend
the rest of your life in search of higher highs.