MENTAL ILLNESS ANOTHER REASON TO BAN MARIJUANA

Editor:

There are often letters to the editor in this paper suggesting
marijuana is a harmless herb which should be legalized.

Ironically, a liberal newspaper in Britain (The Independent, March 18)
has now publicly apologized for calling for the legalization of
marijuana, due to the increasing damage the drug is doing to young
British people.

The British National Treatment Agency reveals the number of teenagers
seeking treatment for marijuana addiction almost doubled in a year
(from 5,000 in 2005 to 9,600 in 2006), and 13,000 adults also sought
treatment.

Part of the problem is that today's cannabis is much more potent than
before. Dr. Robin Murray, a professor of psychiatry at London's

Institute of Psychiatry attributes 10 per cent of the nation's 250,000
schizophrenics to cannabis abuse.

Professor Colin Blakemore, chief of the Medical Research Council
stated, "The link between cannabis and psychosis is quite clear now;
it wasn't 10 years ago. Evidence of the damage to mental health caused
by cannabis use -- from loss of concentration to paranoia,
aggressiveness and outright psychosis -- is mounting and cannot be
ignored."

A 2005 New Zealand study at the University of Otaga revealed pot
smoking raised the incidence of mental illness by 50 per cent.

Our mental health system does not need the additional burden of
dealing with the effects of marijuana abuse.

Young people need to realize today's pot can make you crazy --
permanently.

CHRIS KEMPLING

Quesnel