Pubdate: Sat, 10 Oct 2015 Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB) Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Contact: http://www.calgaryherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66 Author: Diana Dow-Edwards Page: A22 DON'T UNDERESTIMATE DANGERS OF POT Re: "Harper is just blowing smoke on pot use," Rob Breakenridge, Opinion, Oct. 6. Responding to Rob Breakenridge's statement, "Marijuana is less harmful than cigarettes," several points need to be addressed. Marijuana use by adolescents is inversely related to perceived risk. As perceived risk is high, use is down. When risk appears less, use is up, according to U.S. statistics. Cigarette smoking has gone down because adolescents know it's dangerous. What message are we sending our children with legalization? Although statistics on marijuana-associated deaths aren't available, this doesn't imply safety. People aren't smoking a pack a day and are unlikely to get cancer from marijuana, but what about your brain? Marijuana is known to cause cognitive impairment - cigarettes are cognitive enhancers. Marijuana impairs time perception. What does this mean to someone driving and trying to estimate when an approaching car will be too close? I agree that cigarettes should be banished, but that doesn't mean that using marijuana is without consequences. Diana Dow-Edwards, Lethbridge Diana Dow-Edwards is a professor of physiology/pharmacology at the State University of New York, and a visiting Fulbright Scholar at the University of Lethbridge. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom