MARIJUANA NOT A DANGEROUS DRUG

I read with bemusement the article in the Sept. 6 edition of the Medicine
Hat News concerning the police's stance regarding the legalization of
cannabis. The article was so skewed and full of misinformation and innuendo
that I feel compelled to respond.

The police chief is quoted saying one of the repercussions of cannabis use
is proceeding to other drugs. That this is a myth can easily be seen if one
thinks about it. There are many cannabis users and few hard-drug users. If
pot is really a gateway drug there would be many more hard-drug users than
there are. There are far fewer hard-drug users, therefore the gateway
theory is exposed as a myth. There is one aspect of cannabis use that makes
it a gateway drug and that is that the criminals who sell it also sell hard
drugs, and thereby the consumer is exposed to them. The senators correctly
stated that legalization would end this.

He then talks about the possibility that someone may take cannabis and then
go back to school. As if that is not already happening. I have been around
this town long enough to remember the three-inch high red headlines from
the late '60s when pot was found at Medicine Hat high school. I even knew
the fellow who was caught. There will always be those who use drugs
inappropriately. There are kids today who drink then go to school.
According to the logic of the chief's argument, alcohol should therefore be
made illegal.

Sgt. Lindsay Fraser then is quoted saying drugs are illegal because they
are harmful. If that is so, let us outlaw alcohol and tobacco, the two most
harmful drugs in use. Any police officer will tell you that alcohol causes
the most trouble for the police of any drug. Tobacco use kills thousand
annually, yet it is not made illegal. Therefore, it is not the harm that
causes the illegality. Lindsay then goes on to confuse the issue by mixing
up the presence of grow houses, which is an effect of prohibition, with the
substance itself. If cannabis were legalized there would be very few grow
houses, just as following the repeal of the prohibition of alcohol there
are very few stills in operation, unlike during prohibition when there were
many.

Const. Dellrae Sharp then repeats the gateway myth, stating incorrectly
that cannabis is, like alcohol and nicotine, an addictive substance. It is
not. She teaches the Drug Abuse Restistance Education program. She states
that kids try pot but resent the constant suspicion and grow out of it. If
it is an addictive substance how is it that the kids grow out of it? The
fact is, many kids try different things. Some try smoking tobacco, and most
do not continue. Some try cannabis, and most do not continue. Some try
bungee jumping, and most do not continue. The senators in their excellent
report stated that kids try cannabis then move on. The real harm of
cannabis is the result of its illegality. We give the kids a criminal
record for a little youthful experimentation, which causes more harm to
them and to society. This is the insanity which the senate would have us
end. Of course, if it weren't for the prohibition of cannabis, many police
officers would find themselves looking for work. That is why they oppose
legalization.

One final note: The excellent book Marijuana Myths Marijuana Facts, by Lynn
Zimmer, Ph.D. and John P. Morgan M.D. outlines these and other falsehoods
commonly touted by those who have a vested interest in continuing this
ill-advised pogrom. I suggest that the chief, as well as the officers
quoted, read this book and then they will be able to make informed comments
that are worthy of listening to.

Bruce Symington

Medicine Hat