CANNABIS IS A GATEWAY DRUG

Sir,

While I am not about to get into a debate about the virtues (or lack
thereof) of marijuana use - it's one of those issues like abortion and
capital punishment, about which people have fixed opinions, and they are
unlikely to change - there are a couple of statements about cannabis in the
June 26 letter by Ellen Rainwalker ('Nobody dies from marijuana') that
should be addressed.

While Ms. Rainwalker is quite correct when she states that nobody ever died
from an overdose of marijuana per se, she tends to trivialize cannabis to
the status of an innocuous substance. Such an assertion is patently untrue
at a number of levels. No psychoactive drug is harmless. The fact that it
might not have directly caused a death is a red herring.

As an addictions counsellor and administrator of a recovery facility, I
have dealt with clients who have been grievously, psychologically harmed by
chronic pot use. More disquieting is her assertion that marijuana "is not
addicting". In fact, it is. We have had clients at the Comox Valley
Recovery Centre who are addicted to only one drug - and that drug is
marijuana. Yes, there is no physical withdrawal, but the psychological
withdrawal from the habituation can be quite devastating.

A couple of other points worthy of consideration. Marijuana is widely
recognized as a 'gateway' drug in that it gives the user a certain tacit
permission to experiment further with more devastating drugs. In that, it
differs from alcohol in the sense that alcohol, which is indeed a
powerfully devastating drug, both physically and psychologically, is at
least legal. Therefore, the user has not taken the leap of breaking the law
in order to acquire his or her substance.

Finally, it is worthy of consideration that the number of carcinogens
contained in a marijuana joint vastly exceeds those in a tobacco cigarette.
Therefore, the jury should probably remain 'out' as to whether or not
marijuana use has actually resulted in death.

Ian Lidster