I am sorry to hear that a marijuana store has opened up in Buckley.

In 1999, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine published the definitive report on the side effects from marijuana.  Here are just a few of their findings:

Marijuana consumption creates greater risk for bronchitis, lung cancer, heart attacks and strokes.  Increased problems with memory and learning.  Poor fetal development and reduced fertility.  Anxiety, panic attacks, paranoia, confusion, and aggressiveness.  An impaired ability to learn, remember, and adapt quickly to changes.

They also found that among young people there was lower achievement and more delinquent behavior.

Several studies have concluded that from 6 to 11 percent of fatal accidents are contributed to by marijuana side effects

The full report was published in The American Family Physician (December 1999) and can be seen on the web at: www.aafp.org/afp/991201ap/2583.html

I have been part of the drug culture and have seen what it has done to my generation.  Negative consequences will accumulate as we age.  Efforts to dismiss the harmful side effects of marijuana are inaccurate, misleading, and irresponsible.

You may ask, “If it’s so bad, then how could it have been legalized.”  Just follow the money trail.  Legalization will create a multimillion dollar industry in our state that can be taxed.  Unfortunately, it will also create dependency, health problems, and emotional instability.

F.T. Kane

Buckley