Pubdate: Thu, 05 Jan 2017 Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB) Copyright: 2017 Winnipeg Free Press Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/send_a_letter Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n727/a09.html Author: James Teller Page: A6 THOUGHTS ON POT Some facts that bear on legalizing marijuana are important to consider. Everyone agrees smoking cigarettes is bad for your health and causes many deaths each year even when the smoke is second-hand. We have laws restricting cigarette smoking, and cigarette packages warn us of the dangers. Why add another smoking risk? Statistics in Washington state show a twofold increase in highway deaths related to marijuana, and they now make up 17 per cent of the total, so why pass legislation in Canada that will increase deaths? To put this another way: if we could reduce highway deaths by five to 10 per cent (by prohibiting marijuana use), wouldn't this be good? A recent poll in Manitoba showed 25 per cent of people would try marijuana if it were made legal. Presumably, this will result in more highway Winnipeg deaths and poorer health. Nearly every study shows marijuana is the "gateway" to addiction to other drugs, so its use encourages the abuse of other detrimental drugs. We don't need more "gateways" that may ruin people's lives. Currently, there are no ways to identify an acceptable level of marijuana in the human body, so we cannot enforce laws related to impairment by marijuana while driving. So, for some, there will be no inhibitions to using marijuana and driving, as there is with alcohol. If doctors can already prescribe marijuana for medical reasons, why do we need legislation for "legal marijuana"? Other than the temptation for governments to take in more money, what is the benefit of making marijuana legal? Yes, lots of things are (or might be) lots of fun, such as speeding at 140 km/h, and there are all sorts of things you could do that might make you "happy," but we have passed laws limiting many of these things. The argument that some "bad" things are not illegal (such as alcohol) is hardly a reason to add more "bad" things to the legal list. James Teller Winnipeg - --- MAP posted-by: Matt