Pubdate: Thu, 27 May 2004 Source: Gauntlet, The (CN AB Edu) Copyright: 2004 Gauntlet Publications Society. Contact: http://gauntlet.ucalgary.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2652 Author: William Bradley Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n766/a04.html DEFENDING WEED Editor, the Gauntlet, Re: "Love Affair with Miss Mary Jane," May 20th, 2004, (The senate committee just came out with its findings remember.....they recommend legalized use for anyone 16 yrs of age and older....)thats new... While these findings may be isolated, it is interesting to note that marijuana use doesn't differ greatly in a country where the laws are much more lenient. Some studies even indicate a lesser number of people under 16 using the drug since its legalization in Amsterdam. Actually user rates are shown to be well below norm in fact(in amsterdam they are the lowest in the world) the USA has the highest use factor of any drug in the entire world but the strictest punishments. Just recently a 19yr old young man was sentenced to 60 yrs (no chance of parole) for selling several hundred pounds while I admit he did deserve jail time or more likely thousands of hours of community service. You know what rapists usually get 5 yr conditional sentences for their first offense. Murderers get 20 max......Sounds so fair doesnt it especially since he wasnt hurting anyone nor did he even carry a weapon or did any police find them on his person or place no...... Cannabis should have never been made illegal and to clear up some well known concrete facts. The Oil lobbyists pressured the government ever since synthetics were developed because they wanted a monopoly. They claimed that hemp and by virtue that which was always callled "cannabis" was a "devil-weed" that caused "negro" men to go wild and rape white women, the same was said the for the hardest working people ever to grace our beautiful country the chinese with their "opium". I guess the whisky sodden bum's were jealous of their work ethic. Emily Murphy was one of the greatest disasters of our countries beginnings and the sad part is alot of woman's rights advocates consider her a heroine. Thats just sad because she was a self admitted racist who helped get almost all drugs except alcohol banned under the pretense it made the Chinese, Negroes, Hispanics get lazy and get loud(two directly contradicting things...) and then to proceed to uncontrollably attack people especially young "white" women.(yet none of this was ever seen....) That really sad part is no one ever mentions these things in articles about the subject, its always "we dont have the science or we don't know long term effects"(which we do we just insist on doing the studies ourselves but countries that have been researching it for years . 6000 yrs of use isnt enough eh? And , of course it aggravates schizophrenia it would aggravate any disease like that as it is and always been an "intoxicant' you ever seen a drunk schizo?( to use the vulgar term) its scary as hell.....id rather have one stoned. At least that will maybe not trigger a seizure like alcohol or 99% of all intoxicant's would and id rather he can admit it without fear of reprisal's if he ends up in the hospital without any social stigma attached beyond his/her already heavy burden. Please for the love of the truth wake up and accept other people's word's and good hard science (not that funded by any pharmaceutical company or any other that has a vested interestest in keeping it illegal or downplayed as "too harmful" which it isnt as its safer than any drug except a "placebo" which could still be considered more dangerous as its a crystalline processed sugar....I'm looking at you RCMP and DEA with your lies.... William Bradley [Ed. note: This letter was run unaltered except excepting the excerpts from "Love affair with Miss Mary Jane," May 20, 2004] - --- MAP posted-by: Josh