url[1]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v21/n004/a01.html";
ath[1]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[1]="CN BC: PUB LTE: Just Say No Education Doesn't Work";
dte[1]="05 May 2021";
src[1]="Cowichan Valley Citizen (CN BC)";
des[1]="Letter writer Cristina Adam asserted that abstinence-based drug education is the best, adding that "in no uncertain terms there is NO way to take drugs safely." ("Letter: Say no to drugs the best message," May 3) Alas, the "drug abuse resistance education" and "Just say 'no'" messaging Adam recalls from her youth was found to be ineffective, if not counter-productive. DARE graduates and those exposed to such simplistic messaging were actually more likely to experiment with drugs. ";
url[2]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v20/n010/a03.html";
ath[2]="Elrod, Matthew";
lnk[2]="New Zealand: Oped: Canada's Legalisation Experience";
dte[2]="15 Oct 2020";
src[2]="Gisborne Herald (New Zealand)";
des[2]="It's been fascinating to watch the debate over cannabis law reform in New Zealand from Canada, especially the arguments based on how well or how poorly legal regulation has been playing out in my country. It's also interesting - and amusing - to read the sometimes apocalyptic or pollyannaish predictions about what will happen in New Zealand if voters endorse the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill (CLCB), with no regard for evidence from overseas. It might have appeared out of the blue when Canada legalised cannabis almost two years ago, but we were finally following the unanimous recommendations of a non-partisan senate committee from 2002. ";
url[3]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v19/n015/a01.html";
ath[3]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[3]="CN BC: PUB LTE: Harm Reduction Is First Aid";
dte[3]="20 Aug 2019";
src[3]="The Daily Courier";
des[3]="Dear Editor: Contrary to Joe Fries' editorial "Abstinence works best" (Courier, Aug. 16), Rhode Island treats addicted prison inmates with methadone, buprenorphine and naltrexone. Like methadone, buprenorphine is an opioid agonist, or replacement opioid. Naltrexone is an opioid antagonist that blocks opioid receptors. ";
url[4]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v19/n014/a01.html";
ath[4]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[4]="CN BC: PUB LTE: Too Soon For A Verdict On Pot Legalization";
dte[4]="14 Aug 2019";
src[4]="Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)";
des[4]="Re: "Legalizing pot is proving to be a public-health disaster," column, Aug. 11. Lawrie McFarlane's verdict is premature. Legal regulation in Canada isn't analogous to legalization in Colorado, for among other reasons, Colorado allows advertising and initially allowed edibles and extracts with inadequate labelling, packaging and dose limitations. ";
url[5]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v18/n116/a07.html";
ath[5]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[5]="CN BC: PUB LTE: Pot Legalization Will Enable More Research";
dte[5]="10 Jun 2018";
src[5]="Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)";
des[5]="The costs and benefits of cannabis and cannabis policies are difficult to calculate, but cannabis legalization will remove many impediments to research. A recent study finding an association between chronic cannabis use by young people and diminished life outcomes acknowledged "while we controlled for multiple potential confounds, it is possible that there are other explanatory mechanisms that have not been accounted for ... in the current study." ";
url[6]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v18/n101/a01.html";
ath[6]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[6]="Canada: Cannabis Debate: Legal Pot Is Far Safer For Youth Than";
dte[6]="16 Apr 2018";
src[6]="Toronto Star (CN ON)";
des[6]="Some remain skeptical the proposed Cannabis Act (Bill C-45) will achieve one of its primary objectives: protecting youth from cannabis-related harms. Some feel the minimum age should be higher than the minimum age for alcohol, worried that those under 25 seem more vulnerable to dependence and health problems linked to long-term, heavy use. Critics of the proposed minimum age may be overlooking another primary objective: displacing the black-market. Young adults aged 18 to 24 represent one third of the market. The act attempts to strike a balance between keeping marijuana away from minors and cash away from criminals. ";
url[7]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v17/n354/a01.html";
ath[7]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[7]="CN BC: PUB LTE: Prescriptions Drove Opioid Surge";
dte[7]="20 Oct 2017";
src[7]="Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)";
des[7]="Re: "Opioid deaths rising, yet drug use tolerated," letter, Oct. 17. The letter-writer hypothesized that the opioid-overdose epidemic is a consequence of increased use, stemming from our tolerance of drug use, as demonstrated by supervised-injection sites and homeless shelters. ";
url[8]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v17/n272/a02.html";
ath[8]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[8]="CN ON: PUB LTE: Cannabis Not As Harmful As Tobacco";
dte[8]="19 Aug 2017";
src[8]="North Bay Nugget (CN ON)";
des[8]="The following is in response to the letter Marijuana worse than tobacco, which appeared Aug. 15. To the editor, Letter writer Don Edwards asserts that cannabis smoking causes more lung damage than tobacco because "marijuana [contains] several more carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) than tobacco." With the exception of the active ingredients, cannabinoids and nicotine respectively, cannabis and tobacco smoke are almost identical. ";
url[9]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v17/n270/a03.html";
ath[9]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[9]="CN BC: PUB LTE: Doctor Has It Wrong";
dte[9]="17 Aug 2017";
src[9]="Prince George Citizen (CN BC)";
des[9]="Dr. Michael O'Malley asserted that "incidence of psychosis has already been documented by some of the states in the U.S., who rushed to legalization of marijuana." ("Pot stance off-base," Letters, Aug. 16). There is no evidence that cannabis usage rates have gone up in the U.S. states that have legalized cannabis, much less that rates of psychosis have increased. ";
url[10]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v17/n255/a02.html";
ath[10]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[10]="CN ON: PUB LTE: Reducing Drug Use, Deaths";
dte[10]="12 Aug 2017";
src[10]="Toronto Star (CN ON)";
des[10]="Re Rethink before decriminalizing drugs, DiManno, Aug. 7 Rosie DiManno should think twice about decriminalizing drugs. Canada gave the concept serious consideration in 1972 with the Le Dain Commission and thought about it some more with the House of Commons Special Committee on Non-medical Use of Drugs in 2002. ";
url[11]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v17/n216/a03.html";
ath[11]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[11]="CN BC: PUB LTE: Cannabis Consumers Overestimate Impairment";
dte[11]="05 Jul 2017";
src[11]="The Lake Cowichan Gazette";
des[11]="Re: "Cannabis front and centre in on Parliament Hill" Kudos to NDP MP Alistair MacGregor for pressuring the federal government to desist from criminalizing cannabis consumers while we wait for their new regulatory regime. ";
url[12]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v17/n091/a07.html";
ath[12]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[12]="CN BC: PUB LTE: Another Take On Medicinal Cannabis Administration";
dte[12]="08 Mar 2017";
src[12]="Goldstream Gazette (Victoria, CN BC)";
des[12]="Re: Langford mayor urges Trudeau to take action on pot (Goldstreamgazette.com) Langford Mayor Stew Young seems unaware that drug and natural health product regulation is a provincial, not a federal matter. ";
url[13]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v17/n024/a08.html";
ath[13]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[13]="CN MB: PUB LTE: Cannabis And Cars";
dte[13]="11 Jan 2017";
src[13]="Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)";
des[13]="Re: Thoughts on pot (Letters, Jan. 5) Letter-writer James Teller misinterpreted statistics from Washington state on cannabis and driving. The cited report states "results of this study do not indicate that drivers with detectable THC in their blood at the time of the crash were necessarily impaired by THC or that they were at fault for the crash; the data available cannot be used to assess whether a given driver was actually impaired, and examination of fault in individual crashes was beyond the scope of this study." ";
url[14]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v17/n013/a08.html";
ath[14]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[14]="CN BC: PUB LTE: Marijuana Smoke Less Harmful Than Tobacco";
dte[14]="05 Jan 2017";
src[14]="Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)";
des[14]="Re: "Little research on marijuana's dangers," column, Dec. 30. Lawrie McFarlane is mistaken when he asserts that the health risks of smoking cannabis have not been sufficiently studied. McFarlane should review the research of Dr. Donald P. Tashkin of the University of California-Los Angeles: "In summary, the accumulated weight of evidence implies far lower risks for pulmonary complications of even regular heavy use of marijuana compared with the grave pulmonary consequences of tobacco." ";
url[15]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n680/a05.html";
ath[15]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[15]="CN AB: PUB LTE: Stats On THC, Crashes Misleading";
dte[15]="22 Nov 2016";
src[15]="Lethbridge Herald (CN AB)";
des[15]="Statistics from Washington State on fatally injured drivers testing positive for cannabis (THC) are misleading. (re: "Keep roads free from 'pot' holes," Nov. 15 Herald editorial). According to the cited report from Washington State,"results of this study do not indicate that drivers with detectable THC in their blood at the time of the crash were necessarily impaired by THC or that they were at-fault for the crash. … It was not clear whether this increasing trend was attributable to Initiative 502 or to other factors that were beyond the scope of the study." ";
url[16]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n622/a09.html";
ath[16]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[16]="CN ON: PUB LTE: Drug Use Is Not A Simple Issue";
dte[16]="22 Sep 2016";
src[16]="Cambridge Times (CN ON)";
des[16]="Re: Letter to the Editor titled "Illegal drug use simply isn't safe, stop it" published on Sept. 13. The letter-writer suggested abstinence, adding, "The logic here, to me, is so simple." Alas, drug policy is not simple. We as a society can make drug use more or less harmful to consumers and non-consumers alike. ";
url[17]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n619/a01.html";
ath[17]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[17]="CN BC: PUB LTE: Marijuana Regulation Is Tragically Overdue";
dte[17]="17 Sep 2016";
src[17]="Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)";
des[17]="Re: "More marijuana research needed," editorial, Sept. 13. It should come as no surprise that the Medical Cannabis Research Roundtable is calling for more funding for cannabis research. The usual bottom line on most cannabis studies - and there have been thousands of them - is that more research and research grants are warranted. ";
url[18]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n391/a07.html";
ath[18]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[18]="CN ON: PUB LTE: Seeing Through The Pot Smoke";
dte[18]="04 Jun 2016";
src[18]="Toronto Star (CN ON)";
des[18]="Re: Toronto police raid marijuana dispensaries, May 27 The police may be right to enforce rules on cannabis dispensaries, but they are also expected to prioritize. Cannabis laws have always been selectively enforced, as evidenced by enforcement disparities among jurisdictions, ages, genders, races and classes. ";
url[19]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n371/a08.html";
ath[19]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[19]="Canada: PUB LTE: 'Reckless' Accusation";
dte[19]="26 May 2016";
src[19]="Globe and Mail (Canada)";
des[19]="Re: Pot Dispensaries 'Reckless,' Blair Says (May 25): I have been cautiously optimistic that Bill Blair understands cannabis policy in Canada, but his characterization of dispensaries as "reckless" and uncaring is disheartening. Non-profit compassion clubs risked arrest and forfeiture to provide cannabis to the sick and dying long before we had medical cannabis regulations. Indeed, had such clubs not challenged the law, medical cannabis would still be prohibited in Canada. ";
url[20]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n240/a05.html";
ath[20]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[20]="CN ON: PUB LTE: Skof Misses The Mark";
dte[20]="12 Apr 2016";
src[20]="Ottawa Sun (CN ON)";
des[20]="Matt Skof, the president of the Ottawa Police Association, erred in concluding that Vancouver's supervised injection site, Insite has failed to reduce HIV infections based on a comparison of infection rates in B.C. with other provinces. Insite serves one neighbourhood of one city. Drug users in other cities do not have access to supervised injection sites, so it would be unrealistic to expect Insite to reduce infection rates throughout the province. ";
url[21]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n116/a03.html";
ath[21]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[21]="CN ON: PUB LTE: Teens Are Already Obtaining Marijuana Easily";
dte[21]="25 Feb 2016";
src[21]="The Sarnia Journal";
des[21]="Sir: Re: Will Canada 'go to pot'? Like many newcomers to cannabis policy, guest columnist Nadine Wark is under the misapprehension that we are arguing over whether or not cannabis should exist, rather than discussing what might be the optimal - not Utopian - regulatory model for minimizing the costs and maximizing the benefits of cannabis in society. ";
url[22]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v15/n693/a09.html";
ath[22]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[22]="CN BC: PUB LTE: No Good Can Come Of Enforcing Cannabis Laws";
dte[22]="10 Dec 2015";
src[22]="Nanaimo Daily News (CN BC)";
des[22]="To the editor, Regarding cannabis dispensaries, you opined "skirting the law - or outright breaking it - will not bring solutions any faster." ("Solving The Marijuana Question Is Going To Take Time," Dec. 8). ";
url[23]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v15/n693/a11.html";
ath[23]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[23]="CN BC: PUB LTE: Perhaps Pot, Liquor Should Not Be Sold Together";
dte[23]="09 Dec 2015";
src[23]="Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)";
des[23]="Re: "Pot sales need strict regulation," Dec. 5. While it is true that cannabis prohibition has impeded research intended to find therapeutic benefits, it has stimulated funding and approval of research intended to find harms. ";
url[24]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v15/n170/a07.html";
ath[24]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[24]="CN ON: PUB LTE: Treat Marijuana Like Smokes, Booze";
dte[24]="23 Mar 2015";
src[24]="Toronto Star (CN ON)";
des[24]="Re: Let the cops ticket tokers, Editorial March 10 In 2002, a nonpartisan Senate committee released a four-volume report in which it unanimously and unambiguously recommended that cannabis be legally regulated in a manner similar to alcohol and tobacco. The committee explicitly warned against a ticket and fine regime, citing jurisdictions that have tried it. Civil penalties lower the threshold and "widen the net" for enforcement. Where before the police would turn a blind eye or seize the cannabis and merely warn the possessor, they instead would issue a ticket. In Australia, because failure to pay is a criminal offence, more offenders were criminalized after the ticketing system was implemented. Giving the police more discretion exacerbates existing geographic and demographic enforcement disparities, which are already disproportionately skewed toward the lower classes and visible minorities. While a few hundred dollars might represent a fancy meal to a police chief or a newspaper editor, it might represent the grocery or electricity bill to a struggling single parent. It has been over a decade since the Senate made its recommendations and more than four decades since the Le Dain Commission and the Shafer Commission. The futility, crime, costs and damage caused by cannabis prohibition are well understood. Legal regulation is long overdue. ";
url[25]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n662/a03.html";
ath[25]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[25]="CN ON: PUB LTE: Reduce The Risk";
dte[25]="12 Aug 2014";
src[25]="Ottawa Sun (CN ON)";
des[25]="Re: 'Injection sites are not the answer,' Editorial, Aug. 9. There is no dichotomy between harm reduction efforts such as supervised injection sites and "helping addicts get off drugs," just as there is no conflict between providing first aid and more intensive medical care, the two are complimentary. ";
url[26]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n385/a07.html";
ath[26]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[26]="CN BC: PUB LTE: Pot Debate Is Not 'Trivial'";
dte[26]="07 Aug 2013";
src[26]="Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)";
des[26]="Re: "Pot shouldn't guide political agendas," Aug. 4. Contrary to Iain Hunter's admittedly uninformed opinion, the debate over cannabis policy is neither as "trivial" nor as devoid of scientific evidence today as it was when Parliament hastily prohibited the herb in 1923. ";
url[27]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n000/a004.html";
ath[27]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[27]="CN BC: PUB LTE: Harm Reduction Not Policy Focus";
dte[27]="04 Apr 2013";
src[27]="Maple Ridge Times (CN BC)";
des[27]="Dear Editor, Contrary to Gordy Robson's opinion, which he attributes to columnist Jon Ferry, our drug policy is not focused on harm reduction to the exclusion of abstinence-based treatment programs, although divisive media coverage might give this false impression. ";
url[28]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n103/a03.html";
ath[28]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[28]="CN BC: PUB LTE: Get To The Roots Of Drug Problems";
dte[28]="01 Mar 2013";
src[28]="Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)";
des[28]="Re: "Don't let crime ruin community," editorial, Feb. 26. Yes, those who are neighbours to "crack shacks" and "drug dens" would undoubtedly appreciate them being temporarily boarded up, but as the editorial rightly pointed out, this sort of predation merely shifts drug-related activity around, and the residents of the communities in which the undesirable activity inevitably increases become understandably upset. ";
url[29]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v12/n599/a04.html";
ath[29]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[29]="CN BC: PUB LTE: Pot Legalization Advocates Have No Fear Of";
dte[29]="21 Nov 2012";
src[29]="Vancouver Sun (CN BC)";
des[29]="Re: Let others pioneer pot liberalization first, Letters, Nov. 19 Letter writer Rob Brandreth-Gibbs accused cannabis law reform advocates of avoiding and failing to discuss several questions he has with respect to cannabis legalization. ";
url[30]="http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v12/n566/a06.html";
ath[30]="Elrod, Matthew M.";
lnk[30]="CN BC: PUB LTE: Best Way To Regulate Pot Is The Only Real Issue Now";
dte[30]="06 Nov 2012";
src[30]="Nanaimo Daily News (CN BC)";
des[30]="Given that Nanaimo Mayor John Ruttan cannot imagine refraining from criminalizing cannabis consumers, young and old, casual or chronic, unless he becomes "really able to believe" that cannabis is not "harmful in any way," one wonders what other potentially harmful substances and recreational pastimes he would attempt to suppress with our overburdened criminal justice system. Television? Junk food? Sports? The question before us is not whether or not cannabis should exist, but rather, what is the optimal (not utopian) regulatory model for mitigating the relatively insignificant harms cannabis causes. Abdicating control of the market to criminals and teenagers makes matters worse. ";