Pubdate: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB) Copyright: 2002 Canoe Limited Partnership Contact: http://www.fyiwinnipeg.com/winsun.shtml Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/503 Author: Joanna Oznowicz-Davis Note: Parenthetical remark by the Sun editor. THOSE DOPES IN OTTAWA Somebody toss me a beach towel, 'cause my head is swimming. After all the furor over the dangers of cigarettes and second-hand smoke, the dead heads in Ottawa are decriminalizing pot! What the are these people on? While I will admit that smoking regular cigarettes isn't the most healthy thing you could do, I have yet to see a regular tobacco user jump to anything harsher. Marijuana, on the other hand, has long had the reputation of being a gateway drug. You know, if pot's good, coke's gotta be better, etc. ... How much sense does it make to say, "No, no Jimmy. Those tobacco products are no good for you. They might give you lung cancer. But, by all means, take a toke. It won't give you lung cancer, but by the time you work your way through all the other drugs, that come after, large-cell carcinoma won't seem like such a big deal!" How's that for a healthier Canada? Joanna Oznowicz-Davis Winnipeg (On the other hand, legalized pot, like tobacco, would be taxable. Oh, boy!) - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens