Pubdate: Fri, 01 Apr 2011 Source: Langley Advance (CN BC) Copyright: 2011 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc. Contact: http://www.langleyadvance.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1248 Author: Russell Barth PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE PAST SCIENCE Dear Editor, The problem Mr. Erbacher discusses reaches far beyond homeopathy [Pseudoscience dangerous, March 1 Letters, Langley Advance]. For example, many plants have medicinal properties, like garlic and ginseng and coffee, but overuse of those plants can cause sickness and even death. Water is good for you, but if you try to drink too much too fast, you can die. Nutmeg is harmless in low doses, but is a powerful hallucinogen in large doses, and a deadly poison in higher doses. Which brings me to marijuana. As a Federally Licensed Medical Marijuana User, I am constantly amazed by just how wildly misinformed Canadians really are. It is like they have never even heard of Google. Not only do far too many people still believe wholeheartedly in all manner of easily disproved lies about marijuana, they refuse to listen when you say, =93Well, actually, recent studies show=85=94 They are convinced that pot is dangerous, and don't want to hear any more about it. They will mention =93science=94 when talking about how bad pot is, but when you tell them about more recent science, they scoff! The issue is fear, lack of critical thinking, and the treasuring of belief over substance. It is an epidemic problem in Canada. Worst of all, people often accuse medical marijuana users of being =93believers=94 =AD as if we are no better than these nincompoops who stick by crystals, The Secret, and homeopaths. The difference is, there are more than 20,000 scientific studies showing the safety and efficacy of cannabis, and the U.S. government has even held a patent on marijuana's cancer-fighting properties since 1974. So this isn't a case of belief, it is documented scientific fact: Marijuana is really, really good for you. But, because the government and police say it is really, really bad, many people still believe that. Even some pot users seem to want to keep believing it, too, which is the most alarming thing of all. They don't want to hear the truth, because then they might have to admit that they have been fooled for so long. It just goes to prove the old saying: =93You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it THINK.=94 Russell Barth - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.