Who Is the Misguided one, Mr Mancini?

This letter was sent to The Daily Triplicate, Crescent City, California:

This letter is in response to Earl Commins' letter ("A change to medical pot would affect the ill," April 8).

I applaud Mr. Commins for writing his letter, but I believe he is misguided. There are far too many people who are physically addicted to marijuana, and many further their addictions by getting less-than-reputable physicians to write a prescription for the drug.

Mr. Commins should not confuse real medications with tangible benefits to marijuana. Marijuana is nothing more than a street drug ... I will say that when I worked at convenience stores in Eureka I was never worried about the average pot smoker running out of Bud and robbing my store. That reality is saved for the tweakers ... which Del Norte has its share of.

Even though pot smokers might be a "gentler" abuser, it is still drug abuse. What happens when the elderly people Mr. Commins speaks of nod off from smoking too many bong hits? Their grandkids come on by and pinch a bud or two and then the next generation of abusers hits the streets of Del Norte. It is time to regulate and help break the chain of abuse. Marijuana does not provide pain relief, it provides a type of comatose effect that is confused as genuine relief of pain.

I am thankful for the proposed change in the ordinance. Medical marijuana users should consider switching to pharmaceutical marijuana to get through the off-season. Marinol comes in pill form, tried and tested, available from a pharmacy, under the control of a physician.

Chris Mancini

Grover Beach

C'mon Mr Mancini, I would challenge you to provide some real world proof of physical Marijuana addiction. In all the research, reading and anecdotal evidence that I've found in my thirty years of smoking, there is only one reference to physical addiction. The reference to 'mild physical addiction can be found on the risk chart here.

It states:

'A mild physical dependence on cannabis might possibly occur in patients using cannabis in high doses, on a regular basis, over a long period of time. However, acute withdrawal from Cannabis produces only mild discomfort (less problematic than caffiene[sic] withdrawal) rather than life threatening symptoms as seen with many other medicines. Addiction to cannabis is not common, but if a person becomes addicted to cannabis, treatment is available.'

Mary Lynne Mathre, RN, MSN, CARN

The risk chart is available at the Medical Marijuana website.