Pubdate: Wed, 16 Mar 2016
Source: Goldstream Gazette (Victoria, CN BC)
Copyright: 2016 Black Press
Contact:  http://www.vicnews.com/eeditions/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1291
Author: Keith Sketchley
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n139/a08.html

MEDICINAL MARIJUANA TRACK RECORD NOT PROVEN BY HISTORY

Re: Medical marijuana consistency proven (Letters, Gazette, March 9)

It's amazing that Stan White has access to 5,000 years of medical
history, from which he claims there has not been a single death from
use of cannabis.

He does flop the word "medically" around in the sentence, but I don't
see how anyone can know all medical history for the last 5,000 years.

During that time the ability to figure out what someone was cured by
or died from has improved from rudimentary to very knowledgeable -
even sanitation was not understood two centuries ago. Note that many
societies that may have used cannabis did not keep detailed records.

White should define what he means by medical use. A few months ago in
Vancouver, 64 people were taken to hospital in one day after
over-consuming cannabis in some form. Would those people have been
cured of their problem with the state of medical knowledge five
millennia ago?

White hurts his own cause with sweeping statements he cannot prove.
Any substance has to be used sensibly, including alcoholic beverages
and cannabis, especially intoxicants as those are. The history of use
of intoxicants is littered with the corpses of those who over-indulge.
Personally, I want to stay in control of my body.

Keith Sketchley

Saanich
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MAP posted-by: Matt