Pubdate: Mon, 27 Nov 2017
Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
Copyright: 2017 The Calgary Sun
Contact: http://www.calgarysun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.calgarysun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/67
Author: Pamela McColl
Note: Parenthetical remark by the Sun editor
Page: 14

IT'S GOING TO HURT

Re: Paying for the privilege of smoking pot. Premier (Rachel) Notley 
stated this week that legal pot could see justice costs climb and 
questioned who should be paying - the provinces or the federal 
government? But additional judicial costs should not be her only concern.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Use revealed the cost of marijuana-only 
drugged driving crashes cost Canadians in excess of $1.09 billion in 
2012 alone. Marijuana use is now resulting in far too many young users 
being admitted to psychiatric hospitals. The level of potency and the 
prevalence of daily use is causing tremendous damage to the minds and 
health of many. Some 27% of Canadians who are 15 years of age and older 
who use marijuana use this drug everyday. The addiction rate for daily 
use is one in two. Marijuana is linked to episodes of psychiatric breaks 
of reality, a seven-fold increase in risk of suicide ideation, and early 
onset of schizophrenia - in some cases by seven years.

Marijuana legalization will see more marijuana use, not less, and it 
will cost both the user and non-user greatly.

Pamela McColl

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(And yet here we are.)
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