DRUGS NOT THE SAME

Dear Sir:

I respect the right of Mr. Giesbrecht to vent his anger at alcohol-related
road carnage in his letter of Oct. 4, but not his attempt to equate alcohol
and cannabis.

The insurance industry, which is charged with paying for the damages on our
roads, did a study of drivers who had taken cannabis to determine whether
the insurers should be concerned about drivers under its influence. Their
conclusion? That the drivers did, indeed perform at a lower level, but that
their tendency to drive more slowly, and try harder to drive better had an
offsetting effect.

They therefore concluded that they have nothing to fear from drivers on
cannabis. We must be careful that we do not assume that the effects of all
drugs are the same. Alcohol and cannabis are no more alike than caffeine
and aspirin. Both have an effect, but the effects are vastly different. In
fact, it can be argued that when cannabis is relegalized, and people smoke
up rather than drink then drive, that the roads will in fact be safer.

Bruce Symington

Medicine Hat, AB