THE EDITOR, Sir:IT'S TIME we learned more of the truth about ganja, whatever it is, and go on with our lives.
Dr. Wendel Abel's recent article on ganja use in The Gleaner seems a good, overall treatment of the ganja situation, but sadly, it comes up far short of a description of the full truth.
Across the developed world, pro-ganja and anti-ganja activists have battled for some years now in a war of studies and research projects.
DRUG RESEARCH
A good deal of my collegial training was in the production of such projects and involved drug research, though not specific to cannabis.
Considering that cannabis/ganja sale and distribution is a multibillion dollar agrarian industry, primarily because of its illegality, it is an understatement to suggest that the motivation of all those involved in producing such studies are suspect.
Smoking it obviously has an affect - call it 'getting high,' 'getting a buzz,' whatever you like - but the specific effect can be different, based on both the type of ganja and the user themselves. There are only a few generalised effects, and we must be very careful how to describe them.
In general, most people get a little hungry and a little sleepy, but there's hardly any overwhelming sense of 'euphoria' as the doctor suggests. That sort of effect is most common with highly addictive drugs, not with ganja.
For the experienced user, the effect is almost instantaneous and the feeling of being 'high' can last for several hours, even most of the day. On the other hand, few users smoke for more than a few minutes, the amount of tar inhaled depends upon how the herb is smoked. Some users do not hold the smoke in their lungs, others do.
In general, it's probably fair to say that tobacco users smoke far more often than do ganja users. Unlike cocaine or heroin, few recreational users are known to commit crimes to maintain its use.
At the same time, few users seem to be display any propensity to be involved in motor vehicle accidents, far fewer, in fact even than the casual alcoholic beverage drinker, for example.
In fact, the operation of machinery is generally avoided by the casual user simply because when it is engaged, the sense of being 'high' has a tendency to rapidly dissipate.
To suggest that ganja use is associated with a number of mental health problems is simply nonsense. There can be no worthy studies demonstrating such a link.
Our understanding of the short and long-term memory affects of ganja use is sketchy at best.
PROBLEM OR SOLUTION
Through experience, most young people rapidly learn that it is both difficult to learn and to study while high, and as most do, they avoid it.
The worst thing we can all do about ganja, I believe, is to demonise it, keep it illegal, and therefore foster and sustain a criminal sub-culture surrounding its use. Unfortunately, that seems to be exactly what we've done. We can be either part of the problem or the solution - it's up to us.
I am, etc.,
ED MCCOY
mmhobo48@juno.com
Bokeelia, Florida
Via Go-Jamaica
