Pubdate: Wed, 02 Feb 2005 Source: Nelson Mail, The (New Zealand) Copyright: 2005 Independent Newspapers Limited Contact: http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/indexLite/1,2487,0a9,FF.html Website: http://www.nelsonmail.co.nz/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1069 Author: P Baldwin THE MERITS OF CANNABIS Sir, Julian Crawford's argument (Mailbox, January 19) that there is nothing dopey about cannabis and that cannabis is used for intellectual stimulation cannot be used in broad sweeping statements to justify making this class C drug legal. Professor Grinspoon of Harvard Medical Scholl may thoink he had been brainwashed and now believes non users behave irrationally. If only the results of a 15 years old boy coming home "stoned" and behaving in a very "dopey" way, were all we had to deal with, you could be forgiven for thinking, "what are we worrying about"? It's the next phase that isn't pretty-watching abnd having to deal with the withdrawal from being "stoned". It's very hard to relate to someone so depressed and miserable that they contemplate suicide, and I, a non user, am happy not to be in that space. The withdrawal process is completed by the return of a happy-go-lucky teenage boy (with all of the usual teenage problems). I'm not dismissing the merits of cannabis use fore medical conditions which modern medicines don't seem to assist: but cannabis use doesn't benefit everyone. As to whether it is addictive or not, it certainly isn't for the use of the many. P Baldwin, Nelson - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom