Pubdate: Thu, 30 Apr 2015
Source: Caledon Enterprise, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 The Caledon Enterprise
Contact:  http://www.caledonenterprise.com/caledon-on/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4318
Author: Kerry Knudsen
Note: Kerry Knudsen is an international journalist, has a master's 
degree in magazine journalism and is publisher at W.I. Media, which 
is based in Cheltenham. You can read more of his commentary at 
woodindustry.ca and coveringscanada.ca.

NO, IT IS NOT TIME WE LEGALIZED POT

Last Thursday we published a column by Danielle Marr advocating a 
rethink of Canada's pot laws. Here, the case for keeping the leaf off limits.

People smoke recreational pot for one reason: to affect their 
judgment. People do not smoke white pot to go with fish, red pot to 
go with meat or foamy pot to cool off while mowing the yard. They 
smoke pot to affect judgment. Period. It makes such concepts as 
"socks smell funny" funny.

The active principal in pot is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC is 
detectable in the urine six months after ingestion. This means 
judgment is affected for six months. This is significantly different 
than wine or beer. I know the dopers will poo-poo (spelling intended) 
this fact, but they are relating to a buzz they identify as "high." 
The body adjusts to the buzz, but the THC remains, as does the 
judgment effect. For reference, watch an old Cheech and Chong bit. A 
stoner is a stoner, night and day, sleeping or driving, working or 
not. Maaahhhn.

Therefore, anybody that has smoked pot in the last six months has had 
his or her judgment affected, and should be interdicted from 
promoting the idea, much as we would not allow a poll supervisor to 
entreat voters to join her or him in a drink. Similarly, they should 
be enjoined from auditing finances, monitoring children, operating 
heavy trucks and buses and writing editorials. Deception is not a 
virtue, and pot is a great deceiver.

If you want to review pot's value in real time, step over to the 
nearest penitentiary or mental institution and ask for a show of 
hands. If you find yourself before an audience of society's lowest 
performers and you see a 100 per cent endorsement of pot as a 
starting point, you should consider a six-month hiatus, followed by a 
sincere self-appraisal.

The idea that alcohol's contribution to suicide, domestic violence, 
liver disease, traffic fatalities, unemployment and YouTube is legal 
is also evidence that the thinker of the idea lacks judgment.

A saner approach would be to cure the ills of alcohol consumption 
before adding pot.

Oh - about Colorado - tax revenues were $25 million short of 
projections, and social costs are soaring, both in Colorado and in 
neighboring states. Another deception.

And finally, that 17-year-old kid could find another cure for a 
dead-end career than sitting in his (wondering why you used the male 
pronoun) mother's basement, smoking a joint, eating Cheetos and 
chocolate ice cream, making video selfies and getting his s--t together.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom