Pubdate: Thu, 17 Nov 2011 Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON) Copyright: 2011 The Ottawa Citizen Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326 Author: Russell Barth, Educators For Sensible Drug Policy, Federally Licensed Medical Marijuana User Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n659/a07.html 'POTENT' POT IS SAFER Re: The myth of the potent pot, Nov. 14. Dan Gardner's column didn't mention that "more potent" pot is actually much safer because THC is a therapeutic agent, not a toxin. I use nine grams a day, and my prescription was recently increased to 16. The pot I use is among the finest, cleanest, and most potent in the world. I got out of a wheelchair, cured my restless leg, my sleep apnea, and my erectile dysfunction. I sleep better than I have in decades and I am stronger than I have been in years, so the idea that pot is dangerous because it is more potent is, to me, utter nonsense. Imagine a cop going on TV talking about how people should avoid oranges because "they have way more vitamin C than in the 1970s!" and you get the idea. American neuroscientist Ethan Russo has an article coming up in the British Journal of Pharmacology called "Taming THC - Potential Cannabis Synergy and Phytocannabinoid-Terpenoid Entourage Effects," which explains how it is not just THC that brings about pot's many medical benefits, it is the combination of THC, phytocannabinoids, terpenoids and other active ingredients found in pot. And those medical benefits include the shrinking of cancerous tumours. Russell Barth Educators For Sensible Drug Policy Federally Licensed Medical Marijuana User - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.