Pubdate: Wed, 28 Mar 2001
Source: Westender (CN BC)
Copyright: 2001 WestEnder
Contact:  http://www.westender.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1243
Author: Charles Leduc
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

FORGET BOOZE, BRING ON THE POT!

I was nodding along in agreement with Guy Bennett's March 22nd column 
("Blaming parents of partyers won't help"), a rare occurrence, up until I 
landed on his stupid remark about "the profound stupidity of teenagers...". 
What does that mean? I was a teenager once, and cannot recall myself or any 
of my peers being inherently stupid.

If anything, I was brighter, more creative, and happier than I can remember 
being since.

However, there were those occasions, starting around age 16, when I would 
get together with a few friends to drink beer, and what I remember most 
about those times is getting profoundly sick. All this to say that it is 
alcohol that warps the mind, and not "hormones and adrenaline". But 
thankfully there is a solution: Legalize pot! With easy access to a drug 
that has rarely, if ever, been linked to violent or reckless behavior, as 
exemplified by the Enderby drunk-driving tragedy, teenagers would have an 
alternative to the destructive effects of alcohol. And marijuana has plenty 
of the "recreational" and "cool" effects that teenagers crave.

So let's stop beating around the bush. Let's "go green", and save lives!

Charles Leduc
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MAP posted-by: GD