<h1>A friend with weed is a friend indeed</h1>

“In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care.

Apparently marijuana is dangerous to mice. The solution then is not to give the weed to a mouse. The rest of us, or most of us, can use it quite safely. Of course there are deniers. Ronald Regan equated the damage to the brain from the smoking of one joint to being on Bikini Atoll during a hydrogen bomb test. Scary, but then the man did have alzheimer's. Still if you are a constant user and taking the drug to blot out reality, your problem is something other than cannabis. I have tried it a few times in my youth but the juice wasn't worth the squeeze so I didn't carry on past age 28 or so.

But now, according to the Journal of Psychology marijuana may have a positive effect on PWP whose symptoms are not being controlled or their medication has caused serious side effects. Other researchers have reported that marijuana helps reduce tremor, rigidity, and dyskinesia.

Our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, favours the idea of legalizing the sale of pot but with controls such as sale not available to minors, sale through regulated businesses or even perhaps a government outlet (much like our liquor commissions).

To me that only makes sense. Legalization would put a cramp in the profits of dealers and money into the pockets of governments. The war on drugs would then be irrelevant and violence between cartels dealing the drug would be reduced, if not eliminated.

I hope I never get to the stage where my only relief will come from a joint because the thought of filling my lungs with something other than air frankly turns me off but, if necessary to maintain quality of life I would find the serenity offered by ganja. After all, it is a completely natural substance and I am told that God doesn't make mistakes.

The opening quote is from a DEA judge in 1988.