Wrong Substance Illegal

[SmokeDog420]

For Walley Starchuk ( Letters, March 18 ) compare pot to alcohol and tobacco is like comparing the hauling ability of a pickup truck to a semi. Sure, they are both trucks, but two very different vehicles.

I can tell you first hand that the ill effects of alcohol consumption ( and over indulgence ) does little if anything to deter people from drinking. I've watched people drink themselves to death, and not a single person quit after hearing so. I've had family members die from cancer, and even I still smoke.

Studies have shown that marijuana poses a significantly smaller risk of addiction than any other drug out there, while tobacco states right on the label that it can be more addictive than ****** or *******. How about we get our priorities right? Tobacco kills, just ask Health Canada. Alcohol-related deaths continue to plague our society, either directly like a poison, or indirectly like a car accident. Better yet, has tobacco or alcohol been recommended as medicine by the medical community in recent decades?

The fact that the consequences of getting high are significantly less harmful ( and even beneficial in certain instances ) than being drunk or smoking tells me that perhaps tobacco and alcohol should be criminalized as well as, if not instead of, marijuana.

Ryan Harris

Edmonton


Pubdate: Sun, 21 Mar 2004
Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)
Copyright: 2004 The Edmonton Journal
Contact: letters@thejournal.canwest.com
Website: http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/