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Marijuana is not harmless

Duncan - In a recent Citizen, a police officer took the time to comment on the legalization of marijuana. Thank God somebody had the courage to tell it like it is! To all of you who think drugs are okay, and make no mistake, marijuana is a drug, read his letter carefully.

Doing drugs is not cool! There is a segment of our population who want their minds to be altered, for several reasons. They want to escape reality, they want a high, they want to be like others, they are plain stupid and irresponsible.Life is a gift. Treasure it. If it isn't good, make an effort to make it better. The high does not last and only leads to more grief for everyone. And permanently harms your body and your brain. Don't believe the ones who only want to make money off of it.Now let me tell you of a personal story, an experience I had some 30 years ago. At the time, I was trying to help a young girl who was going down a very dangerous path. I won't go into full detail, I'll just get to my point. She was involved with a terrible man; in and out of prison, drugs, etc. In between prison terms, she had two beautiful babies, before she was 18. Try as I may, his hold on her was stronger than mine.They were living in Nanaimo. Their second little boy was six weeks old when I received a frantic call from the mother. Little James had died from crib death. Please come! My husband and I rushed to the apartment only to find the mother plugged into hard rock music, completely stoned! No sign of the father.There was a motorcycle in the living room and a huge hunting knife, out of its sheath, on a table, and a two-year-old boy running around dressed only in a dirty diaper. A small example of marijuana use here.To make my story short, I was able to arrange a small service for the baby, with the help of my parish priest.I read a passage from scripture as this tiny little coffin was brought in. My heart broke and the image of the tiny coffin is with me still. The coroner's report revealed what I had expected. Marijuana smoke contributed to this wee baby's death.Keep this in your mind, all of you who think marijuana is harmless. There are many, many more cases of the harm marijuana does. That police officer mentioned only a few.As you drive the highway, pray that the drivers behind and ahead and alongside of you are not pot heads.Peggy CetinskiDuncan