Pubdate: Fri, 05 Aug 2011 Source: Nisqually Valley News (WA) Copyright: 2011 Yelm Online Contact: http://www.yelmonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5278 Author: Mark Ryan CALLING IT CANNABIS HELPS TO TAKE THE THORN OFF THE ROSE Editor, Thank you for front-page coverage of a continuing effort to bring medicinal cannabis to Yelm. Shakespeare wrote that a rose by any other name would still be a rose. That flower has many attributes, including a warning sign for the inexperienced; don't grasp the rose. The thorn of cannabis is marijuana, the recreational name. Same thorn, but different name and warning sign. Upwards of 30 minutes was spent with the interviewer explaining the impact of the legal name change from medicinal marijuana to medicinal cannabis yet the slang word was used in the headline. Y'all are not making the task of removing a thorn of society any easier therefore I must take exception to the headline. I have no intention of providing a recreational product. My goals include removal of underground traffic. My Daddy told me that life is not two plus two equals four. Magic wands do not exist. The Lord gave me two eyes and two ears and my job is to fill in the blanks and come up with 10. Eyes and ears are for making quality decisions based on truth observed, adding balance, perspective and faith. Alcohol kills brain cells is a documented scientific fact and last week Tylenol officially became subject to overdose. The only bad thing about cannabis is marijuana; recreational use by teenagers. I just think we should do everything to remove weed from 12-year-olds. Legal medicinal cannabis operations are federally immune. That means controlled grows, monitored by the folks good at monitoring. That would be the grassroots local guys who know the local folks. Mark Ryan Yelm Editor's note: Marijuana is not a "slang" term, it is an accepted word, according to www.dictionary.com. Pot, however, is slang, as is "Mary Jane." As Mr. Ryan states in his letter, a rose by any other name is still a rose. The same argument applies to the word marijuana. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom