Globe and Mail – letters to the editor

Friday, September 6, 2002 – Page A16

Your editorial cartoon was great -- members of the Senate must be stoned.

What are they thinking? Saying that marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol or cigarettes flies in the face of real science. Not only is it more dangerous to inhale unfiltered marijuana smoke, taking it deep into the lungs, but suggesting a legal age of 16 for pot smoking is utterly ludicrous.

If you think drinking and driving doesn't mix, wait until you add dope to the equation. Teen driving statistics in Ontario show that the highest fatalities are among the 17-year-olds (the first year of independent driving under graduated licensing), followed by the 19-year-olds (the legal age for drinking alcohol). Just watch the fatalities soar with legal access to another mind-altering drug.

Once marijuana is decriminalized, any teen with a pot seed and a bag of dirt will be able to grow it.

Talk about letting the genie out of the bottle.

Gary Direnfeld, executive director,

I Promise Program -- Teen Safe Driving Initiative

Dundas, Ont.

www.ipromiseprogram.com

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