Pubdate: Fri, 28 Jan 2011 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2011 Postmedia Network Inc. Contact: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html Website: http://www.theprovince.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Author: Russell Barth POT WON'T 'DESTROY' Re Jon Ferry's column on smoking tobacco and marijuana: people who inhale marijuana are not "destroying" themselves. Marijuana is less harmful than table salt, coffee, chocolate or cellphones, so comparing it even to tobacco is absurd. Telling kids to never use certain drugs is like telling them to never see a certain genre of movie, never go to an amusement park or exotic country, or never do anything at all that may be both risky and fun. It teaches them to be afraid of new things, instead of curious. And as history has shown, fortune favours the adventurous. Sensible, moderate, well-informed drug use is no more harmful, dangerous or immoral than any one of dozens of other activities humans participate in every day. Russell Barth, Nepean, Ont. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom