Pitfalls of pot dead ahead

I have a difficult time understanding the thinking of people in the states of Washington and Colorado. For years and at great expense, the drive throughout the U.S. has been for reducing the use of tobacco and deaths it has caused. Now the powers that be in these states are legalizing recreational use, and some others are permitting medical use, of a substance that is worse than tobacco. The president says it is OK because he used it. Maybe that contributes to his problem with management of our country.

During the late 1950s and on into the 1970s, marijuana became a management problem in the Willamette National Forest and other national forests. Training sessions were conducted to aid in identification of use, and how to maintain control to provide supervisory personnel with knowledge to work with the problem. Training sessions usually started off with burning of some hemp rope so one could know what the drug smelled like when being smoked. Information provided at these sessions included the following:

The dried leaves and flowering tops of hemp (same plant as that used for making rope) Cannabis sativa. The material used for marijuana has been changed considerably from the natural state used in making rope to increase the active ingredient known as THC (tetrahydrocannabinol).

The effects from smoking marijuana usually occur within minutes and last for an hour or longer depending on duration, strength of the weed, and method used in smoking. When eaten or taken as a tea the effect may be delayed for half to one hour, and may last for three to five hours depending on the amount consumed.

Physical effects include a dry mouth, mild reddening of the eyes, slight clumsiness, slurred speech, and increased appetite. Subjective effects include feelings of well-being, calmness, dreamy, relaxed, laughing readily, experiencing time moving very slowly (as in a dreamy state), sights and sounds may become more vivid, imagination increases, and random connections between things seem more relevant. Also, large doses may result in panicky conditions, fear of death, illusions, and psychosis (loss of contact with reality) producing paranoid delusions, confusion, and related symptoms. When triggered by the drug, panicky conditions and psychosis usually disappear within a few days.

Regular users of marijuana can become physically dependent on its effects. THC and other chemicals found in marijuana accumulate in fatty tissues within the body and the brain. As it builds up in a person's body, an increasing amount is required to sustain the effect users are attempting to gain.

During a 1971 accident investigation of a U.S. Forest Service work crew, it was learned that several members were using marijuana on the job. While clearing debris in a tree plantation, a young member swung at a sapling tree with an ax, missed, and nearly cut his foot off. Other members of the crew claimed that a tree did not exist in the area where they were working, only dead debris. It was learned the member had been hallucinating and staggering around most of the morning. It was also learned that the District Administrative Assistant, who was transferred from Portland, Ore., was selling the dope to crew members. Following the investigation, all involved were dismissed.

This information must be available and known by public managers and legislators within these states. The liberal groups and dollar signs must be blinding these people, and it will become very costly to take care of the results of these poor decisions within the near future. At that time, those paying taxes will be required to take care of those who have destroyed their minds and bodies and the destruction resulting from marijuana use. How many will be killed by hallucinating drivers before action is taken to cause a turnaround in support of its use?

Ralph Wheeler is a resident of Spirit Lake.