Pubdate: Wed, 26 Mar 2003
Source: Gamecock, The (SC Edu)
Copyright: 2003, The Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina
Contact:  http://www.dailygamecock.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2319
Author: Clyde Purcell

MARIJUANA ISN'T THE WORST DRUG OUT THERE

I smoked a few joints of ganja last night. First, I raped a girl and then I 
accidentally shot one of my friends. After I did that, I got so hungry, I 
went to Taco Bell three times, and the weirdest thing happened: I killed a 
little kid on a bicycle every time.

I mean, come on. Why are people trying to paint such a bad picture of 
ganja? Where is the fight against addictive prescription drugs with 
horrific side effects? Where is the fight against alcohol, which 
contributes to domestic violence and car-related deaths? It's OK to take 
some sore-throat medicine that might lead to heart failure or diarrhea, but 
it is bad to smoke some leaves that make you jovial and hungry.

One advertisement said that one in three drivers charged with drunken 
driving tests positive for tetrahydrocannabinol, the addictive chemical 
found in ganja. So what? The advertisement was meant to deceive without 
lying. THC stays in your adipose tissue for long periods of time. You can 
test positive for THC after three months of smoking ganja. Yes, it impairs 
judgment, but it is nowhere as debilitating as alcohol is. But, as we know, 
ganja does not fund political campaigns.

I suffer anxiety attacks, and I was prescribed Paxil. Although Paxil 
worked, I would frequently begin to tremble and there were sexual side 
effects. Since I began smoking marijuana, I haven't suffered another 
attack, and I don't have any more embarrassing side effects. If we are 
going to fight drug abuse, let's do it across the board.

Clyde Purcell

Fourth-year chemistry student
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens