MARIJUANA HAS MANY HARMFUL EFFECTS

Dear Editor:

How ironic to find an anti-drug article just two pages before yet another
pro-marijuana letter (March 14, 2002).

It is ignorant to believe marijuana does not have harmful effects both on
the individual using the drug and on those around him.

It is a useful drug for those who are prescribed it but we would like to
share what the Narcotic Educational Foundation of America (NEFA) through
Hardin B. Jones has published.

"The harmful effects of smoking marijuana include the following:

o The average marijuana user shifts from a self-activating, interesting and
involved person to one who is withdrawn and given to disordered thinking.

o The user's thought formation tends to be less powerful than before he/she
began using marijuana.

o The user's attention span and ability to concentrate are reduced and
his/her memory is shortened.

o The user's facial circulation reflexes are impaired, and the focusing of
the eyes is less precise.

o The user's concern for consequences is reduced and his/her concern for
the rights and well-being of others may be largely absent.

o The younger user tends to remain thin and underdeveloped for his or her age.

o The male user is deficient in male hormone.

o The user is likely to have a tendency toward paranoia or schizophrenia.

o The user's white blood cell immune response is lowered.

o The user's sleeping and waking cycle is largely inverted.

o Because marijuana is a hypnotic drug, the user is likely to be talked
into many situations that he/she would otherwise avoid."

These are just some of the reasons marijuana use should be reserved for
prescription use only. We hope that the police will continue to fight grow
operations within our community.

D. and A. Jones, Summerland