Pubdate: Thu, 10 Feb 2011 Source: Kamloops Daily News (CN BC) Copyright: 2011 Kamloops Daily News Contact: http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/679 MARIJUANA USERS SEEK ELUSIVE LEGITIMACY We hesitate to lump the Church of the Universe in with supporters of medicinal marijuana, but they do have one thing in common. Both seek to legitimize their use of marijuana by associating it with things that already have legitimacy. In one case the link is with religion, and with the other it's health care. The Church of the Universe was in court this week to argue that church members' use of marijuana should be exempt from the country's pot laws, because they use the drug as a sacrament. Luckily, the Ontario judge who heard the case did not go along with this blatant attempt at subverting the freedom of religion guaranteed to Canadians. They're entitled to their beliefs, but they aren't entitled to break the law. Supporters of medicinal marijuana also have some odd beliefs, although they try to ground them in science. There is, indeed, some evidence that marijuana can be used to relieve pain - or at least some of the chemical compounds found in marijuana relieve pain. Unfortunately, marijuana has a multitude of chemicals in it, and many of them are clearly bad for your health. The drug boosts your heart rate, distorts perception, creates difficulties for memory and learning, and impairs co-ordination. Heavy usage has been found to lead to hallucinations, delusions, impaired memory and disorientation. These facts are no secret, which leads to a natural suspicion that the real agenda behind medicinal-marijuana backers is one of decriminalizing it for general use by people seeking a recreational high. No doubt, many if not most medicinal-marijuana users are honest about why they want and need weed, and derive real benefit. As with any privilege, however, there are those who would abuse it. We've seen where this leads in California. Medicinal marijuana dispensaries have become so common that the state had to pass legislation to keep them away from schools. Prescriptions have become so easy to obtain that many Californians are ready to throw up their hands and give in to legalization. Here in Kamloops, the use of marijuana has become so prevalent in some circles that people will actually express dismay if you dare to raise its health hazards. Surely, they argue, any progressive thinker would support decriminalization of pot. Before we even begin to move in this direction, a lot more science is needed. Would it be possible, for example, to extract the cannabinoids that relieve pain and administer them in a way that does not harm patients? That approach might not sit well with the people who advocate medicinal marijuana, because advocates for causes seldom want to be sidetracked with consideration of views that don't jibe with their own. But, for society as a whole, its an approach that makes sense.. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt