POT'S REALLY OK

Editor:

Criminals, drive-by shootings, inadequate resources - enough already.

You made the statement 'marijuana is a drug;' so is coffee, so is alcohol
and I understand cigarettes aren't good for you either, but they are legal.
It's an interesting dichotomy don't you think?

Encyclopedia Britannica, Science and Technology makes this statement:
'Chronic use does not establish physical dependence, not upon withdrawal
does the regular user suffer extreme discomfort physically such as those
associated with narcotics.'

Enter the dichotomy. The Criminal Code of Canada says marijuana is a
narcotic. Science says it is not a narcotic.

Tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana, has medicinal
properties. It has been found to lessen eye pressure in persons suffering
from glaucoma and alleviates nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapeutic
drugs used to treat cancer patients.

Don't misunderstand me. People need to educate themselves on this subject,
particularly those who claim to never have tried it.

Opium, cocaine, heroin and others which destroy lives daily are the drugs
society should fear.

Keeping the weed illegal is what drives the market. I do not condone the
legalization of marijuana, but I wholeheatedly support the philosophy of
decriminalization. It is not illegal to make wine or beer or even grow your
own tobacco.

As for the big mean money you spoke of, it is the laws governing this
product which provide the incentive to the risk-takers, especially when you
consider anyone who works for a living is actually taking home five months
of his wages and the governments get five months. Everyone needs money,
that's a given. To blame marijuana for the woes of society is a cop-out.

There are seven city residences where the opium poppy flourishes.

R. Stuart Campbell

Kamloops