Pubdate: Sun, 17 Oct 2010 Source: Dallas Morning News (TX) Copyright: 2010 Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/cgi-bin/lettertoed.cgi Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n837/a01.html Author: Elaine Jansak IS LEGALIZATION THE ANSWER? WEIGHING THE MERITS OF MARIJUANA MARIJUANA HAS COSTS Re: "Marijuana's safety," by Russ Jones, Wednesday Letters. Although the opinionated debate on marijuana goes on, the reality is that persons who drink marijuana teas, smoke marijuana or place tincture in their eye are looking for an escape from something. Why must they alter their mental status and metabolism? And continue to influence ours? As a teacher, clinical educator and previous friend of high-school smokers, I have seen students, patients and friends lose much from wanting a brief run-away. Factually, the effect of having an increased appetite due to smoking marijuana has only been seen in persons who use this menacing weed regularly. Party-taking practices an altered conscious state, and also takes up valuable time, space and money from tried medical and agricultural prescriptions and lands. In Jamaica, where marijuana has been local, they have high mental health costs with a low educational outcome. Competing for these prizes seems like an unworthy rescue. Is there some other way for us to experiment without increasing harm? It feels like we have lost some footing in the areas of pain evolvement. If marijuana is such a cure, why do we keep arresting people who commit crimes when engaging in their drug use, while not arresting them does not stop the crime? Elaine Jansak, Dallas - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake