Pubdate: Mon, 09 Jul 2001
Source: Report Magazine (CN BC)
Copyright: 2001 Report Magazine, United Western Comm Ltd
Contact:  http://www.report.ca
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1327
Note: This is the BC Edition
Author: Rick Hiebert
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

TOKE NO MORE

A B.C. Hypnotist Helps Marijuana Smokers Break Their Dangerous Addiction

For 35 years, hypnotist M. Vance Romane has used his soothing voice to help 
cure people of smoking, drinking and eating addictions. At a seminar of 40 
people in Winnipeg this past spring, Mr. Romane took on another nasty 
habit, marijuana smoking. In attempting to help pot addicts, however, the 
52-year-old White Rock, B.C., hypnotist also succeeded in stirring the pot 
in the decriminalization debate.

Canada recently became the only country in the world to allow marijuana for 
medical purposes, but Prime Minister Jean Chretien has no intention of 
loosening the rules any further. That suits hypnotist Romane's customers. 
In the mid-'80s, he started getting about 10 people per year at his "stop 
smoking" seminars who wanted to quit marijuana. "Now we get 25 requests per 
year and it's still growing." The pot addicts tell the hypnotist the drug 
makes breathing more difficult, makes them more prone to illness, erodes 
their motivation and wrecks their short-term memory. Besides holding 
seminars, Mr. Romane is selling "stop-toking" CDs.

His work has shone a light on the adverse effects of marijuana use and 
that, in turn, has angered legalization advocates. "I consider M. Vance 
Romane nothing more than a bigot," complained John Gordon of the B.C. 
Marijuana Party. "If I could afford the cost of his show, I would go and 
smoke a big 'phatty' of Marc Emery's best and listen to the trippy music."

The man to whom Mr. Gordon referred is Marijuana Party president Marc Emry, 
who makes so much money selling marijuana seeds over the Internet and 
running a pro-pot magazine that he was able to throw $200,000 behind the 
party during the recent B.C. election.  He now plans to expand his 
marijuana distribution network under the guise of "compassion clubs."

Despite his pro-pot propaganda, however, there is no concrete evidence pot 
has any medicinal value.  Moreover, smoking marijuana makes glaucoma and 
symptoms of multiple sclerosis worse, not better. Studies also show that 
marijuana does not help those with epilepsy, anorexia nervosa or 
Parkinson's disease.  As well, many studies have alleged marijuana usage 
leads to harder drugs.

Furthermore, a 1971 study found young marijuana smokers suffer cerebral 
atrophy, and a 1987 study noted marijuana triggers manic-depressive 
psychosis and schizophrenia.  A later study published in the Scientific 
American said marijuana causes panic attacks, delusions and hallucinations, 
paranoia, depression and "uncontrollable hostility."  The latest study, in 
Circulation magazine, found that middle-aged pot smokers are five times 
more likely to have a heart attack in the first hour after inhaling as 
non-users.

Ben Jenkins, a retired Nova Scotia RCMP officer who advises companies on 
substance abuse, cannot understand why so many people support 
decriminalization of the drug.  "It's been proven to be dangerous," he 
points out.  "Why are they not holding marijuana to the same safety 
standards that we have for our medicines?"
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager