Pubdate: Wed, 15 Sep 2010 Source: National Post (Canada) Copyright: 2010 Alex Sobolewski Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wEtbT4yU Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286 Author: Alex Sobolewski Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n752/a04.html MARIJUANA'S MANY MEDICINAL BENEFITS When did "pot become a harmless, benign drug?" your letter writer asks. Perhaps when it was used to fight glaucoma? Or when multiple studies showed its effectiveness in treatments of various cancers? Maybe it was when studies like the one done at Sheba Medical Center in Israel confirmed that marijuana use is not correlated with damage to mental health? Or possibly when Portugual decriminalized pot and found a decrease in crime with no negative health effects? In fact, it was probably when the U.S. National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse found that: "The actual and potential harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify intrusion by the criminal law into private behavior." If all the science is to be believed, there is no reason why it should not be legalized as per the wishes of Canadian society. Alex Sobolewski, Hamilton, Ont. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake