Pubdate: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2005 The Province Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Author: Bill Cooper HEALTH HAZARDS EVERYWHERE There are health hazards associated with smoking anything, whether it is pot or tobacco. There are many health hazards associated with alcohol. I grew up with a prescription-addicted parent. It was not a pretty sight. Valium was mother's little helper. Grow-ops, home invasions and drug gangs scare me a lot more than responsible adults smoking a joint in the privacy of their own home. The government and police should be more concerned about methamphetamine, crack cocaine, ecstasy and heroin use than marijuana. It appears the feds are willing to provide safe houses for hard-core druggies, even willing to give them free drugs, but are still willing to bust marijuana users. It is high time we decriminalized marijuana. Tobacco and alcohol cause more health problems worldwide than all other drugs combined. The human brain has THC receptors, put there by mother nature to process tetrahydrocannabinol, marijuana's active ingredient. There are no tobacco or alcohol receptors in the human brain. Bill Cooper, Burnaby - --- MAP posted-by: Beth