Pubdate: Fri, 26 Aug 2011 Source: Flume, The (CO) Copyright: 2011 The Park County Republican & Fairplay Flume Contact: http://theflume.com/formlayout.asp?formcall=stafflist_feedback Website: http://theflume.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4277 Author: Kathleen Thomas Gaspar ONE TOKE OVER THE LINE Today, while I was thinking about the Aug. 28 Celebrate Life walk/run/bike fundraiser organized by the Fairplay Pregnancy Resource Center, I was AM radio station-surfing in my car and heard a radio commentator advocate blanket legalization of marijuana. He said he has never smoked pot and never will, but he believes it to be infinitely less dangerous than alcohol. Now, like just about everyone in Colorado, which has legalized medical marijuana, I know people who have the credentials that allow them to buy pot at dispensaries. And to my knowledge, not one of those individuals has committed a crime while stoned. In fact, if I didn't know many of them had the cards, I wouldn't even know they smoked marijuana. To be honest, it hasn't been a huge concern of mine one way or the other if someone smokes pot for medicinal or any other reason. Just don't do it in my house or car or in my direct proximity, because I don't like smoke. (And in case you're wondering, I will answer "yes" and "yes" to the two questions Bill Clinton was asked during his first presidential campaign. I also chain-smoked cigarettes and had other habits and pastimes that were unwise choices. Past tense.) But even though pot's effects are quite unlike those of alcohol - adults rarely become violent on pot - and the commentator quipped that instead of robbing convenience stores, pot smokers are far more likely to be parked on a couch, watching TV and eating cheese puffs, toking up is not without side effects on bystanders. Think about it. In the case of alcohol, which I'm not advocating, children who are in the same room as someone drinking a beer will become inebriated only if they, too, drink the beer. But children in the same room as someone smoking pot? I found the following online by doing a simple search. You can go to http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_second_hand_marijuana_smoke_harmful_to_children to find more information and check my research. For my part, this study, provided by Prop 65 in California, compares second-hand pot smoke first to second-hand tobacco smoke and then looks at the effects of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive substance in marijuana) on kids. These, by the way, would be the same kids who need to do homework and should be getting physical activity. "Marijuana has recently (June, 2009) been added to the Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer. Second-hand marijuana smoke contains 50 percent to 70 percent more harmful chemicals than tobacco smoke," the site says. You can check http://oehha.ca.gov/Prop65/docs_state/mjcrnr061909.html for additional information. Answers.com goes on to say, "Children can be affected differently than adults. While large doses of THC act as a CNS (central nervous system) depressant, lower levels of THC can act as a stimulant, so kids can go around talking incessantly when exposed to a parent's smoke. Teenagers' mood swings can get worse, and some kids become forgetful, angry, or violent after having been in a smoke-filled party room." There is a separate site that addresses second-hand smoke, tobacco and pot, on pregnant women and unborn babies. Which brings me full-circle to the fundraiser on Aug. 28, a celebration of life's sanctity and a commitment to the health of women and children. I am not condemning pot smokers. That's not my job. But I am pointing out what I think is the obvious: exposing kids to second-hand smoke is, in the words of Brewer and Shipley, "one toke over the line." Thank You, Lord, for the freedoms this great nation affords us - for the radio commentator to express his opinion and for me to express mine. Thank You for wisdom, for compassion and for Your amazing grace. Amen. Hallelujah. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.