Letters | Pot is dangerous

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Correction: An In Case You Missed It item and an Eco-Brief in the April 19 issue incorrectly stated that an Earth Day event was being held on Norlin Quad to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Environmental Center. The center celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2010.

Pot is dangerous

In the April 12 edition of the Boulder Weekly, the cover story was entitled, “Nipping 4/20 in the bud.” A week later, the Boulder Weekly published [a letter to the editor] written by Tristan Gulliford. More than anything, the editorial sparked my desire to reflect on the issue because of some of the absurd claims.

The real issue is not 4/20. It is not how to control 4/20. Nor is it about the reputation of CU. Actually, there was a program called Marijuana USA on CNBC tonight and the main focus was Colorado. If you want to talk about reputation! This is about addiction and how denial is at work. No one is addressing the truth. The truth is that pot is addictive and ruins lives.

Physiologically, pot may not be as addictive as heroin, meth or cocaine. Pot does not change the nervous system like these other drugs, but it is psychologically addictive. And by the nature of addiction, that leads to not being able to stop.

Tell those folks lighting up on 4/20 to stop for a year. It ain’t gonna happen. They are psychologically dependent on it. And if they were to stop you will find that the user’s anxiety will soar, mood will suffer and other drug use will increase.

I can tell you from professional and personal experience this substance ruins lives. The rooms of Marijuana Anonymous are growing every year with younger and younger people. The need for this 12-step program grew out of the reality that weed is not harmless. Go to a few meetings and listen to the stories.

Doug Jowdy, Ph.D./Boulder

Almost agreed with Danish

I thought for once I could agree with Paul Danish on “The folly of compulsory national service” (Danish Plan, April 5).

But, no. Although Danish gets the right answer, it’s for all the wrong reasons!

He natters on about economic and social costs, what to do with the conscriptees, etc. Not a word about the fact that it’s unconstitutional! Thirteenth Amendment: Involuntary servitude is prohibited. This “national service” is not a draft and not to defend the nation; it’s a cockamamie social engineering experiment, using people’s lives as the variables.

It violates the most basic law of our land.

Nor does Danish examine the moral travesty of stealing several years — the most precious and productive adult years — from every young American.

Even if it weren’t unconstitutional, it would be Just Plain Wrong. The way to get young Americans to “serve” and to do right, for themselves and for their country, is to stand back and let them do it! They have the energy and the ideals; they’ve not yet been dragged down by corruption, compromise or just plain getting old-and-tired.

It’s disheartening that so many of us OFs haven’t learned that.

Dick Dunn/Hygiene