17.2.12

Big Tobacco praying hard for pot legalization

(Letters  published in the Globe and Mail newspaper, Feb. 17, 2012)
Blowing a joint
Gary Mason suggests that legalizing marijuana will produce policy complexities (Legalize Weed, Yes, But The Demon’s In The Details – Feb. 16). Here are just a few: 1) Marijuana makes people with some mental illnesses more prone to psychosis. How will we protect vulnerable people from this harm?; 2) Marijuana smoke is as damaging to physical health as tobacco smoke; 3) Because raw marijuana has been accepted as a “medication,” anti-smoking regulations must be strengthened so they can be applied even to those who claim they are taking medication; 4) Legal marijuana will become a gift worth billions to Big Tobacco. The industry will devote its vast resources to obfuscating research on health effects, resisting regulation, targeting youth and maximizing marijuana’s addictive qualities; 5) Roadside tests must be developed to detect and prosecute drivers impaired by marijuana.
We need careful preparation before we jump on this bandwagon.
Judith Anderson, Burnaby, B.C.
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Re Paul McCartney Quits Smoking Pot To Be A Better Parent (Feb. 16): Maybe Sir Paul is just trying to get back to where he once belonged.
Douglas Cornish, Ottawa

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