Pubdate: Wed, 06 Nov 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: Andrew Hines COMBAT CANNABIS When I was a child I had never heard of drugs, but now they seem to be everywhere. Marijuana seems to be the big one these days. The government is currently being pushed by certain groups to legalize it. These people claim that marijuana is as harmful as alcohol and tobacco products, and want to be able to smoke it without risking arrest. Reality check time! Alcohol, for the most part, is only a danger to the person ingesting it, although drinking and driving puts everyone's lives at risk. Smoking tobacco products not only hurts you but also hurts others who are exposed to secondhand smoke. To legalize marijuana or "weed" would be like combining the negatives of both drugs and making it available to the general public. Can you honestly say that you would be happy in a country where you have to worry about getting high, losing memory due to the destruction of brain cells and getting cancer? I sure hope not. Marijuana has nothing positive to offer Canadians except for the money that the government would make from taxes. What we need to stop this threat to our health are for people to speak out against marijuana. Let's show the pot-pushers that there is no place for cannabis in Canada! Andrew Hines, Grade 12, Windsor Regional High School, Falmouth - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake