Pubdate: Thu, 31 Oct 2002
Source: Halifax Herald (CN NS)
Copyright: 2002 The Halifax Herald Limited
Contact:  http://www.herald.ns.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/180
Author: Dan Paul
Note: Daniel N. Paul is a human rights activist, historian and author.

THE PERILS OF POT AND ADDICTIVE SUBSTANCES

MARIJUANA, without much evidence to support such a contention, has been 
labelled by some experts as the gateway to hard drugs. Is it? A Senate 
committee thinks not.

Before getting into dissecting the question, I'll admit I've tried it 
twice, didn't like it both times, never tried it again, and have never had 
any inclination to use it or any other mind-bending substance on a regular 
basis. This includes legal prescription drugs, which are, when not properly 
controlled, far more dangerous than pot. I've seen side effects from such 
drugs that made the original disease look pleasant.

Please don't get the notion that I'm free of addictions to addictive 
substances; I'm not. I'm hooked on one of the deadliest of all, if not the 
deadliest - a product that was finessed to a mouth-watering state by 
culinary experts over a long period of time: fat-saturated, delectable 
food. It, without a doubt, has caused more permanent impaired health 
situations, and more deaths from heart disease and other deadly maladies, 
than all other addictive substances combined.

At the moment, I'm almost under control and not dangerously overweight; but 
I did cross that threshold once. And even knowing that if I were to 
continue in that state, it probably would mean an early death or permanent 
disability, I had a devil of time retreating from it. Consequently, I most 
definitely don't want to revisit the struggle entailed in ridding my frame 
of excess poundage again. However, with all the temptations in one's face 
constantly, it's very hard to resist and live healthy. For example, because 
of arthritis, I need to drop at least another 20 pounds. After two years of 
trying, I've had only moderate success, the loss of eight pounds.

What was the entry culprit that caused my addiction? Pot certainly wasn't; 
however, probably many of the legions of fat-food-addicted, overweight 
North Americans have turned to it for comfort. Is fat food, then, the entry 
source to pot, then to the hard stuff? I don't believe so; I think we need 
to consider human weaknesses.

For starters, we should collectively face this fact, instead of looking for 
scapegoats: We're all inclined to become addicted to something or other 
during our lifetimes. Fortunately, most of us can control our addictions, 
but it's not always so. For instance, in the case of fat-laced, tasty food, 
the battle is being lost. If the trend continues, in the near future, the 
majority of North Americans will be dangerously overweight, thus prone to 
early disabilities and deaths - very expensive for health care systems.

As for so-called entry drugs and substances, there probably isn't one item 
to pin the use of hard drugs by addicts on. For those with no resistance, 
because of their natures, addiction to even a mild addictive substance is 
probably instantaneous. What is needed to help them is early detection of 
proneness to addiction, then an effort to stop them from experimenting with 
addictive substances in the first place.

For those with resistance who become addicted, among the multitude of entry 
drugs and substances that helped hook them on hard drugs, nicotine and 
alcohol, which are both extremely addictive, are in the forefront. These 
two, even for those who do not graduate to hard drugs, are the deadliest. 
Combine them with fat-laced food and it's almost a guarantee of early 
demise or, worse, an expensive, long-term, incurable illnesses. But the 
three are legal.

In the case of alcohol addiction, I know of cemeteries that are well 
populated with the remains of those who were crushed by it. The orphans, 
widows or widowers, broken homes, and other innocent victims left behind 
because of it are legion. Many alcoholics, when they can no longer afford 
to feed their addiction, turn to any product with an alcohol content for 
satisfaction, often combining it with any kind of drug at hand for potency. 
Yet alcohol is sold by governments and considered socially safe.

To a lesser extent, but yet substantial, the victims of nicotine addiction 
take up spaces in cemeteries. Yet the drug is sold over the counter and 
governments collect a bounty of taxes on it.

In the case of pot, I have no knowledge of anyone expiring from using it. 
In fact, I know of individuals who have been using it for over a quarter of 
a century and show no ill effects - functioning on a daily basis quite 
normally.

Is pot addictive? If it were, this country - for that matter, the Western 
world - would be in a terrible state because more than 70 per cent (a 
conservative estimate) of its adult citizens, having used it, would now be 
addicted.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not advocating the use of pot, or any other kind of 
addictive or non-addictive drug. People would be better off if they didn't 
use any, and if they were very conservative about using prescription drugs. 
But I do believe that the resources being utilized to fight the sale and 
use of this relatively harmless drug, witnessed by the throngs who have 
used it without ill effects, could be far better used in combatting serious 
crime.

Let governments license its sale and collect taxes. Organized crime isn't 
interested in something easily available and not paying high dividends.
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MAP posted-by: Beth