Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - June 13, 2001, Winnipeg, Manitoba Focus a11 m 2001 marijuana just say know by Jonathan Geiger and Philippe lagac6wiens although illegal in Canada since the rules of Law regarding the personal use of marijuana May change soon because government has opened up Public discussions about its possible in so we hear Basi Cally three the first is the continued demonization of this drug this is probably not a great the second is some form of decriminalization the rumblings for this Are grow ing the third is legalization some would argue that this would be the yellow Brick Road to Reefer mad Ness own decisions much has been written about Mari Juana and its possible Adverse effects including the excellent full Page Arti Cle that appeared in the Winnipeg free press on May rarely Are people Neutral on the Issue of marijuana use and possible and the read ers Are free to agree or disagree with what we say Here the Only unacceptable response is if we know anything right it is that peo ple Are making their own decisions to take or not and this is happening regardless of or in spite of parental pressures and Legal intervene people must be treated As the informed decision makers that they Are and should we cannot just say no and expect ill advised attempts at scaring people into avoid ing drugs to such programs mostly preach to the the Stop reflow approach to drug control has run its the is spending nearly billion per year on drug after 30 years of such the results were nicely described in a recent segment of the West Wing where actor Martin portraying the president of the said and correctly so that drugs Are More of better Quality and Are More affordable than they have Ever interdiction has been interdiction has now May be the time for a different How about a concerted educational approach based on informed decision this Means giving timely and Credi ble information about drug actions and this information must include discus Sion of the rules of health benefits there Are benefits of taking medical and safety issues for the user and those around decriminalization for now marijuana is but More and More the move towards decriminalization is happening for users not this May not be such a bad some of the effects of marijuana can be medically Benefi marijuana is a pain it pre vents nausea and stimulates it reduces pressure in your eyes from and it reduces muscle like any there is the potential for Adverse medical desired of course Are the relaxation and giddiness from its marijuana can decrease your immune system some what and this might make you More susceptible to colds and it can decrease testosterone Levels somewhat and in men this might decrease Fertile and it can decrease Short term motor skills and reaction it May not be the Best idea to ingest it if you Are driving or Snow boarding and you May wish to exercise caution around people who Are unsafe users of but know walk into any Grade 5 class or higher and ask How much a Gram of pot costs of course you have to first establish your Trust at least one will know the they know the answer because there has never been a Civi tribe or nation that has not used mind and mood altering sub drugs of abuse have always been with they Are certainly with us and it is a very Safe bet that they will be with us in the no Demon marijuana is not the Demon drug that it has been made out to if you use you will for become a heroin addict the Domino Gateway theory of drug use was debunked a Long time All drugs have their Downside and Mari Juana is no let us take a different lets say no to scare tactics and replace this with timely and credible information for our lets Stop putting people in jail for simple Possession and use it would be hypocritical to do Jonathan Geiger is a professor of pharmacology at the University of Mani Toba and Confounder of the Centre for substance use in sport and Philippe Lagac Ewens is a University of Manitoba medical letters to the editor the free press welcomes letters from they must include the authors address and Telephone letters May be letters to the 1355 Mountain r2x fax email Canadian press archives an outdoor column on using bait in Bear Hunting has raised the ire of Hunters who object to the Way they were outdoor writer crossed line free press outdoor writer Doug Colli cutt crossed the line when he com pared Bear Hunters to paedophiles and prostitutes Bear baiting crosses the ethical june his characterization of Bear Hunters As Only looking for a photo of with a dead Bear is Way off the vast majority of Hunters have a far greater understanding and appreciation of the ecology of bears and the natural environment than most individuals who do not participate in Hunting or Collicutt claims shame and disgust with Bear baiting and sport Collicutt also declares that i Ive hunted and Ive even obviously he is not opposed to sport fish ing and the use of lures bait in fishing or it would be inter Esting to see him trying to catch a fish with nothing on the end of his fur what Fisherman goes out hoping Only catch a Little fish holier Chanthou attitudes in differ ent Camps of those who enjoy the recreational aspects of trap Ping and fishing simply play into the hands of those in the anti move if Collicutt has Ever used night crawlers or leeches for he had better look into the Ani Mal cruelty sections of the omnibus criminal code Bill that is currently in the House of his fishing methods Are threatened by senior politicians who have been influenced by Rabid members of the animal rights at least Bear baiting would not be a criminal not yet any Jeff Gresham Winnipeg writer full of ethics it seems your outdoor columnist has a problem with the ethics of Manito Bas Bear it is so sad that from his Soapbox he decides there is no line to Cross when it comes to the ethics of Doug Collicutt claims to understand so much of Hunting in this yet he states All Black bears Are hunted Over bait in simply not bears Are hunted from tree stands Over by spot and by Preda Tor calling and Over the Type of Hunting depends on the and the will of the he also allows your readers to infer that All one has to do is place bait and wait to shoot your he quoted All sorts of statistics but the one he left out was the one that showed approximately Only 27 per cent of resident Hunters filled their tags in the 2000 Bear look at his analogy regarding outfit ters and pimps and this Guy should be writing a column referring to sounds like Hes full of Russ Mehling Steinbach debate left Bounds of decency comments in Doug Collicutt column in sundays free press about the Bear Hunt in Manitoba went Way Over the i am a Hunter although i have not hunted i have had the Opportunity to get to know a number of out one that comes to mind is a Rural Mother whose outfitting business ensures a living for her family in a Small town that has few Job opportune Shes not getting Rich and works extremely hard for every Dollar she she is dedicated to ensuring that her activities follow All the rules and not a threat to Bear by comparing outfitters to pimps and Collicutt has shamed both himself and the free 1 dont expect everyone to sup port Bear but i do expect the debate to be carried on within the Bounds of Tim so puck Winnipeg formal apology needed for unjust Nam calling it is evident from Bear baiting crosses the ethical line june 10 that Doug Collicutt is not very Well informed on the Bear baiting is Legal in Manitoba and is quite closely baits Are restricted in what they contain the Type of meat to ensure that no Dis eases Are present that could cause a bears Are quite selective in the searching for foods with High nutritional As a most outfitters use High Quality food for most outfitters put out Many More baits than they require and those baits that Are attracting females with cubs Are usually not but Are maintained As a food source for the the baits that attract the Large males Are the ones that Are most often used by the bait Container must be marked with the name and address of the that if there is any Manitoba conservation enforcement staff know who to baiting ensures in our Forest bears Are in Clear the client and guide have plenty of time to observe any if there Are they Are usually right under foot of the females and identification is no a bait site allows close Range observation to virtually eliminate Collicutt suggests that Hunting does not help control wildlife Popula i can assure based on 20 years of experience As a natural resource officer and eight years As a wildlife technician with the former department of natural that Hunting is a very effective method of helping to control populations and increase the health and vitality of a outfitters have been used extensively by Manitoba conservation to help Deal with human caused problem Bear situations in the cottage areas and the comparison of out fitters to pimps and paedophiles is totally uncalled for and should result in a formal apology from Collicutt to All the tourism operators in the Jim Ticknor executive director Manitoba lodges outfitters Asso Beausejour wider Lane a Safe measure regarding bicycle safety on Ive been suggesting curb lanes on major streets and Bridges should be a metre this is an obvious solution if there is a bit of Lee Way in existing there Doest need to be talk of special or even a separate painted line for where there is bikes would ride next to the second George Slivinsky Winnipeg feature missed Christian youth groups two things jumped out at me when i looked through the feature night on the town june 2 despite the inclusion of family Friendly activities walking in the inline there was a stronger emphasis on drinking and the club we All know that both activities go on each weekend How often do we Wake up on monday morn Ings to hear about the results of one of them usually an Accident or an alter cation involving alcohol that either maims someone or snuffs their life the Friday night feature should have emphasized the alternatives to these activities the food Drosins such As youth for Christ or living Bible nursing Home i was also shocked and offended to see a photo of the stripper at the Stag is this what we want our children to see As fun what about All the religious events that Are happening on Friday nights around Winnipeg in if not Christian every Friday hundreds and hundreds of Young people gather together for a youth ser vice or youth Ruthann Soodeen Winnipeg no reason to pay Morgentaler clinic the editorial two tier abortions june 4 deserves a Strong i am against so called therapeutic abortions on moral nevertheless i intend to Dis cuss on purely rational grounds the matter of paying for abortions at the Morgentaler most abortions Are being performed on the basis of personal requests and not for medically indicated this procedure is not comparable to plastic however there Are some parallel plastic surgery for purely personal reasons is not Cov ered As an insured procedure under should medicare be expected to pay for All most of which have no med ical or truly therapeutic basis Over abortions Are being per formed annually at the health sciences it is not surprising that there is a waiting fewer elective abortions would lighten the Load and would reduce the waiting the solution is not to provide More and More Public Money for this the Winnipeg regional health authority Warha is responsible for the provision of medical services in i am not party to their deliberations and however it is my impression that the Board of that organization is involved closely with the medical organizations and bears the responsibility for the med ical services it is my under standing that Henry Morgentaler has refused to relinquish control of the Morgentaler this would Lead to loss of control of a facility for which the Warha would Bear the Respo Sibili there is no reason for the Manitoba government to pursue this matter and to insure the services at his clinic while they have no direct control Over the Paul my Winnipeg Anders should resign Over Mandela remark the position of Alliance my Rob Anders and party Leader Stockwell Day regarding the Issue of making Nelson Mandela an honorary citizen of Canada is an embarrassment to All Anders should an apology should not be i would rather live in Johannesburg today than live there As a Black yester i would certainly not want to live in an Anders or Alliance Canada under any there is a difference in being Able to express ones View in parliament or having the Freedom of speech and stupidity Tony Zienkiewicz Canadian Auto local 3003 Winnipeg dont criticize owner for protecting property three decades in Winnipeg have taught me that businesses particularly developers Are quite successful when extracting concessions from City Hall by threatening court action and silencing Public does Justice Holly Beard criticize Cosman realty for trying to improve cos mans bargaining Posi Tion with the City and extract a greater Price in an expropriation Case judge tosses out lawsuit challenging expo May Why is the Protection of ones current property deemed less acceptable than the creation of new property and profits Jesse Vorst University of Manitoba Winnipeg doonesbury by Garry Trudeau you you Hap a to Root ;