OtherPress2015Vol42No6.pdf-19

Is weed ‘infinitely worse than tobacco’?

» Let’s let the science do the talking

Davie Wong
Sports Reporter

RE“ week Stephen Harper
seems to do something right
and take the lead in the federal
election campaign. Then he
does something completely
ridiculous and throws it all
away. This week, it was the
Prime Minister’s comments on
marijuana legalization that got
him in some serious heat.

The Conservative Party has
always made their stance on the
issue of marijuana legalization
clear. No way would they ever
legalize cannabis. That has

never changed. However, Harper :

still felt the need to protect his
party’s decision on the matter.
In a statement about the issue,
Harper said that marijuana is
infinitely worse than tobacco.
That statement has not sat well
amongst Canadians.

Canada is known for a wide
variety of things. We invented
sports such as hockey and
basketball, created foods such
as poutine and maple syrup,
and were made famous by our
extreme winters. But one thing
that many Conservatives have
failed to realize is that Canada
also has one of the highest rates
of cannabis use in the world.

The substance is
particularly popular in BC,
where marijuana has begun
populating as a culture rather
than a street drug. There

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: are even shops dedicated to

: smoking apparels such as bongs,
: pipes, and the ever-popular

: electronic cigarette. The Lower

: Mainland is littered with these

: shops, set up conveniently

: close to “medicinal” marijuana

: dispensaries. I use the term

: medicinal lightly, as there were a :
: few incidents where dispensaries !
: have been revealed to be selling
: marijuana on an illegal level.

As the popularity of the

7-pronged leaf grows, so does
: the concern about the long-term



: effects of smoking it. When

: Harper made his statement

: about marijuana being worse
: than tobacco, a Conservative

: spokesman pointed to the

: Canadian Cancer Society and
: their research to support the

: Prime Minister's claim.

Unfortunately, it appears
that what Harper and the

: Conservatives are trying to do
: is take research done by the
: society and twist it way out of
: context. The Canadian Cancer
: Society did perform a study

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: comparing marijuana usage to
: tobacco usage. However, the

: information revealed by that

: study hardly helped Harper’s

: point.

: While the society concluded :
: that smoking marijuana caused
: approximately 10 times as

: much smoke to be inhaled as

: tobacco, they also pointed out

: that smoking tobacco was much
: more hazardous than cannabis.
: In every tobacco cigarette,

: there are an estimated 4,000

: chemicals. More than 70 per

: cent of those are known to be

: carcinogens, chemicals causing
: cancer. The Canadian Cancer

: Society estimates that smoking
: tobacco has been responsible

: for almost one-third of cancer

: deaths, and 85 per cent of lung
cancer cases.

Marijuana, on the other

: hand, according to a study

: done by Ethan Russo MD, has

: only 483 different types of

: chemicals. Eighty-four of those

: are known to be cannabinoids,

: the chemicals that cause the

: numbing feeling that the drug is
: known for.

David Hammond, Applied

: Public Health Chair at the

: University of Waterloo, reported
: that research has shown that

: only four per cent of marijuana

? users report some sort of health,
: legal, or financial trouble. This is
: a stark contrast to the 30-50 per
: cent of tobacco users that report
: the same.

At the end of the day,

: Harper’s comments have costed
: him dearly. Youth who were

: not already decided on a party

: to vote for have flocked to

: the Liberals in opposition of

: Harper’s misguided comment.

: Although his intentions were

: likely to curb the growing

: trend of cannabis, which is

: reminiscent of the tobacco trend
: in the early 1900s, he picked

: the worst time to make that

: comment.



Do it for yourself

» Not volunteering does not make you a selfish monster

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor
‘we S opinions@theotherpress.ca

Yo used to do it. You used
to commit your valuable
time helping an event, an
organization, or a cause. I know
I did. | don’t anymore. I don’t
volunteer, not because I’m busy,
but because I recall that most
organizations that don’t pay for
labour are often disorganized,
not so flexible, and ultimately
lacking professionalism.

I have had bad experiences
volunteering, and I believe many
people have as well. But we
dismiss all the bullshit because
we want the goodwill, we want
the work experience, and we
want to participate and make a
difference.

I’m not going to say that
volunteering is a waste of time,
because in the end, it’s up to
you to define what your time
is worth, and for you to decide
how you would like to spend it.

: If you have a group of friends

: volunteering, you might love

: it—it’ll just be like hanging out.
: However, if you feel frustrated

: over the work or lack of

: communication, or that perhaps
: there is a high expectation for
your role, be on alert.

There is a reason why

: unpaid internships are illegal

: now—it’s slavery. While as

: a volunteer you are there

: of your own free will, the

: organizers often make it seem
: as though they are doing you

: a favour. If you feel like you’ve
: been mistreated—whether

: by the leaders or your fellow

: volunteers—you can leave.

: There are literally a billion

: different ways to make a positive :
: impact in the world, and many
: will even pay you to do it.

We live in a capitalistic

: society. If you are working for
: free, that means other people
: are working for free, and that is
: not fair for anybody. The least
: they can do is offer lunch or an

: honorarium. If an organization
: does not have a revenue stream,
: investors, donors, patrons, etc.

: why does it still exist?

Moreover, if we look at

: the world as a whole, we see

: many young adventure-seekers

: volunteering to build houses

: and orphanages in developing

: countries. Okay... cool... but

: those people don’t need some

: 20-something-year-old from

: Cloverdale to help them build

: shit. Give them material, and

: they can do it themselves. If you
: want to have an adventure, get

: ajob, earn the money, and buy a
: plane ticket without interfering
: with other people’s lives. If you!
: want to help build an orphanage :

in Cambodia, donate money

: and resources. Start a company
: that will hire local workers

: to do the job. Create a self-

: sufficient ecosystem, not one

: that nourishes your own self-

: righteousness.

Volunteering is not

sustainable. Eventually you'll



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: have to eat. If organizations

: want help, they should apply for
: grants, have some marketing

: system, and have some

: incentive—it doesn’t have to be
: monetary, but it does have to

be worthwhile. Volunteering is

: not for everybody, so before you
: think of someone else, think of
: yourself. You deserve your own

: precious time.