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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1999-05-26, Page 6Exifterrititelatilkdtotifitt 1 WBdiiesdgy,'May Q6,4999 TiMESA1)V()CATE PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511 Jim Beckett Publisher aqd Editor Don Smith . General Manager Deb Lord Production Manager Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • (519) 235-1331 ED1TORiAL Medicai.use of juana should not beac a Aman suffering from AIDS. has become the second personin the country who has the legal right to grow and con- sume marijuana. This is an interim step • toward the anticipated legalization of the drug for medical use. e^ .A decade or two ago, such a move would not have been considered. Marijuana is a street drug, and consumption of street drugs is wrong, no argu- ments, no exceptions. Now decriminalization of drugs including marijuana even has the endorse- ment of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police. Apparently common sense is finally prevailing. It makes no sense at all to self-righteously deny a desperately ill or dying person relief from pain,.. and then sit auwn for a couple of before -dinner martinis. When a person is dying in :agony, is the prime consideration" possible addiction to an illegal drug, or relieving the pain? Is the prime considera- tion keeping the patient alive as long as.. possible, or maintaining as good a quality of life as possible? Increasingly, the answer to both, is the latter. If marijuana helps control the nausea from some cancer treatments, why not use it? If someone is screaming in pain before the next allowed dose of medication, why not use a higher dose,_.a more fre- quent dose, or even a street drug? Medical practitioners and so.ciety in general have concluded it is wrong to "protect" someone in terrible pain from one substance which might offer some relief. Perhaps it is a case of choosing the lesser of two evils; perhaps it is more a .matter of acknowledging there is nothing inherently.: evil_ about marijuana (remember that campy classic "Reefer Madness"?) or immoral about seeking`ade- quate pain relief. Fact: A good many perfectly legal and accept- able "medical" drugs can be, and are- abused by people bent on getting intoxicated. So are other substances including after -shave lotion and air- plane glue. Fact: One of the most abused drugs in our soci- ety is s not marijuana, heroin or cocaine, it is alco- hol. And alcohol is readily available in many forms, just about everywhere. Not only does- our govern- ment endorse its use, but makes a considerable amount of money by taxing it. There are a few other facts about alcohol. Long term abuse of it can be as devastating to a person's liver and general health as it is to personal rela- tionships. According to some studies, a good third of the thousands of homelesspeople in Toronto are neither heroin addicts nor former mental patients, as is commonly believed, but alcoholics. Alcohol is not a benign drug, but it is popular and it is legal. Tobacco, too, is a proven killer, but its consump- tion is perfectly legal in. most. -places. Nicotine is a powerfully addictive drug which does affect one's physical and emotional state. , This is neither a plea for legalizing all drugs, nor one for making all intoxicants illegal. It is a plea for our government leaders to speed upthe process of making a relatively innocuous drug;,(not harm- less - cigarettes, whether they contain tobacco, or cannabis, are both carcinogenic) available to those who wish to use it for medical reasons. It is a plea for pain relief to be a medical matter, not a legal one. No person should have to risk imprisonment to seek relief from severe nausea or pain. If marijuana works when other medications do not; a -doctor should be able.. to monitor its use or even prescribe it without fear of legal repercus- sions. �: ,��,�► .�r ys�r { .� , ,� ,.• ;.t; Y� torial& 1 p!flOfl Election puts issues on the spin cycle It's a wonderful, magical, time to be working at a newspaper. It's election time in Ontario and every- one loves us. Politicians and their _staff are happy to send us information — if itsuits them — and even stop their cars to let us cross the street. Thankfully; municipal, provincial and federal elec- tions don't overlap., I couldn't stomach the love -in. • With each election; politicians and their. parties get better at .putting their spin on the . f issues. I've been on both sides of the desk as a public relations person and now as a reporter and an editor. In my former life, I attended training courses in dealing with the media. The first lesson is that no matter what a reporter asks, reply with whatever you want to say. Here's an example.. Question: If elected, how will your party invest in agriculture? • KATE'S Anwar; That's a very complex topic but TAKES what's really important is :.that- we create a. healthy .economy and eliminate the debt .blah,: blab, blah. The three provincial leaders had this mastered during the telgvision debate on -May 18, for the most part ignoring each other and instead,. looking earnestly into the camera with the rapt attention of a border collie staring down a flock of sheep. . No one is more guilty or innocent than the rest and this phenomenon is not restricted to the party lead • - ers. Most politicians are pretty . good at it. Hopefully, members of the press are _ u skilled at taking the spin off the issues. The 1999 election also sees a change in riding boundaries and the size of some of the ridings gives one pause. They've increased in size more than Holsteins have grown in the past few years. For example, the new Lambton-Kent-Middlesex riding is the same size as Prince Edward Island! The candidates are putting on the miles — thank goodness for cell phones or we'd -never find them. You'd better hope you're available the moment a candidate drives by. With the abbreviated election campaign, they're even missing the all -candidates meetings in the name of time management. One reason for the boundary changes is to more closely reflect the democratic process so that everyone's vote has equal weight. Unfortunately, this means the Greater Toronto Area has half the province's ridings and therefore holds the power. Here's another thought. With the provincial riding boundaries changed to match the federal. ridings and* the provincial government preaching the elimination of duplication in government and social services, do we need a provincial and federal government? For my part, I'll be relieved when the election is over and I can get a good night's sleep. 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