Pubdate: Wed, 03 Sep 2014
Source: Tampa Tribune (FL)
Copyright: 2014 Charles Harris
Contact: http://tbo.com/list/news-opinion-letters/submit/
Website: http://tbo.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/446
Author: Charles Harris
Note: Some of the 4 ref'd items not about drugs.

SMOKING, PAIN AND POT

There were four stories in the paper Tuesday that made me realize
just how government is out of control.

I am 81 and smoked heavily for 42 years until I had quadruple bypass
surgery. I have a Country Gentleman magazine from 1932 that has a
full-page color ad featuring a doctor with a pack of Camel cigarettes
in the corner. The caption reads: 'Doctors recommend smoking a pack of
Camel cigarettes a day to help with digestive problems.' In Tuesday's
paper, one arA-ticle states smoking has killed millions in the past
and still is today. Another article talks about the dangers of
marijuaA-na and driving, especially with the addition of alcohol. We
have lawyers and others pushing for legalizing it. Another article
talks about the problems people with legitimate issues are having
acquiring pain medication due to Florida's crackdown on 'pill mills.'
I am one who uses pain medication. I have a degenerative shoulder
and wear a shoulder brace. I do not want to go through an operation
at my age - it is not worth the cost or pain. I have three
degenerative discs in my back. Again, because of age and cost, I
decline back surgery. I have a knee that needs a soft brace; again, I
decline knee surgery due to age, cost and pain.

I will not live long enough to see the results of marijuana, and they
say 'just medical.' I was in Amsterdam last year and talked to an
elderly gentleman (Amsterdam has had legal pot and pot shops for
years). He said they had lost a generation of young people due to the
use of marijuana. He stated their education level had dropped, that
more high school students had dropped out and that their IQs had
dropped an average of 10 to 15 points.

Charles Harris, Tampa 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D