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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
- March 28, 2006
To The Editor;
How do you choose to spend your health charity dollars? For most Canadians, compassion is the number one motivator, followed by a personal belief in the cause, and thirdly by being personally affected. Like most of us, my charitable dollars are stretched further every year, yet I continue to contribute to the majority of organizations asking for financial support for all of the above reasons. For me, however, being personally affected is the number one reason I support the MS Society of Canada.
Multiple Sclerosis is the most common neurological disease affecting young adults in Canada. Multiple Sclerosis has been diagnosed in babies, children, and teens, although it most frequently strikes people between the ages of 20 and 40. Multiple Sclerosis can cause loss of balance, impaired speech, extreme fatigue, double vision, and paralysis. Canada has one of the highest rates of Multiple Sclerosis in the world. Thanks to the generosity of thousands of Canadians, Canada is a world leader in research to find treatments and a cure for Multiple Sclerosis and much progress has been made over the past ten years.
Using technology, researchers have developed a window into the disease. Scientists have identified the key molecules responsible for initiating the abnormal immune system response in MS. MRI scanning helps doctors identify brain lesions, an indicator of MS, more quickly. Myelin is the insulating sheath for our nervous system and the breakdown of this insulation is a key factor in multiple sclerosis. There is evidence that myelin can regrow and repair itself spontaneously in the early stages of MS. Studies are underway using the body's own cells to repair myelin. Current research includes the trial use of bone marrow transplants to alter the course of MS. Unlike other bone marrow transplants, in this study the patient uses their own cleansed bone marrow rather than the bone marrow of a donor. The preliminary results of this study have been encouraging.
The MS Society provides funding to many areas of research. The percentage breakdown of every dollar donated for research is as follows: Pediatric 24%, Bone Marrow 22%, Genetic Susceptibility 18%, Immunology 14%, Myelin Repair 14%, MRI Studies 4%, Health and Treatment 3%, and International Data Centre 1%. Appreciating the apparent increase in the incidence of Multiple Sclerosis in children, please note the MS Society's emphasis on pediatric research.
This year Susan and I will again be participating in the MS Super City Walk at Gyro Park in Penticton. The MS Walk is on April 23rd.
My main interest and primary purpose for participating in the MS Walk is to generate funding to help researchers find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis. For all people with MS, research is the key to finding improved therapies and cure. If you are willing and able to support us in this cause, please send your pledge to: Ken Carlson, Box 1354, Princeton, BC, V0X 1W0. Thank you.
- Ken Carlson
Dear Editor,
Good intentions are no substitute for effective drug education. Independent evaluations of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) have found the program to be either ineffective or counterproductive. The scare tactics used do more harm than good. Students who realize they've been lied to about marijuana may make the mistake of assuming that harder drugs like methamphetamine are relatively harmless as well. This is a recipe for disaster. Drug education programs must be reality-based or they may backfire when kids are inevitably exposed to drug use among their peers.
The importance of parental involvement in reducing drug use cannot be overstated. School-based extracurricular activities have also been shown to reduce drug use. They keep kids busy during the hours they're most likely to get into trouble.
In order for drug education to effectively reduce harm, it has to be credible. The most popular recreational drug and the one most closely associated with violent behavior is often overlooked. That drug is alcohol, and it takes far more lives each year than all illegal drugs combined. Alcohol may be legal, but it's still the number one drug problem.
The following U.S. Government Accounting Office report confirms my claims regarding DARE: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03172r.pdf
Sincerely, Robert Sharpe, MPA
Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Washington, DC
To The Editor,
RE: Police, Prohibition, And Violence
When it comes to drug abuse, health care professionals and social workers usually advocate medical treatment and therapy.
Many high ranking police and government officials, however, still insist that the best way to prevent drug use - and to win 'The War On Drugs' - is to put more people in jail, and for longer periods of time. They are advocating an extremely violent punishment for a non-violent crime.
They are also 'sending a message' to the the rest of us, which is that they are in charge, and are willing to do any one of us terrible physical harm for the smallest infraction. There is no good reason to take policy advice from someone with such monstrous opinions.
My understanding is that jail is a dirty, violent place where one comes into contact with deadly diseases, sexual predators, and hard drugs. The terrible psychological effects alone are enough to badly damage most people permanently.
This could be the reason why some judges are giving light sentences for marijuana crimes. They are sensible enough to realize that sending someone into a potentially deadly environment for something that is essentially a 'consumer choice,' is much like saying that it is okay to beat your teenager
half to death for sneaking into the liquor cabinet.
Not only does imprisonment serve as an unnecessary short-term financial burden to society, it will probably cause more long-term harm to the prisoner than good, along with a greater cost to taxpayers.
This could also be the reason why the law is no deterrent. Deep down - whether they admit it or not - everyone knows that prohibition is not only an unsound policy, it is completely absurd. We don't need the government and police to act as a 'stern father,' and all science and history indicate that when it comes to recreational substances, regulation and education work better than prohibition.
It is very frightening to think that our police officers - who get their salaries from the taxpayers and are supposed to protect and serve - would like to see someone go to a horribly violent place, simply for possessing marijuana, or growing some in their home. Keeping the population obedient to the state under the threat of violence or death is akin to terrorism, in my view.
There is one group of law-enforcement officials that has a different view, however. They are called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and they can be found at http://www.leap.cc/
- Russell Barth
Federal Medical Marijuana License Holder, Ottawa
