Off the Deep End

THE DANGEROUS SIDE OF MARIJUANA

Marijuana is not a harmless drug.

The environment, the smoker and people suffer because of the seemingly
accepted drug.

Years ago in my hometown of Galt, a man and his two sons were hunting
on their property and walked into a marijuana garden. The growers shot
and killed the man and his almost teenage son. They let the young boy
go.

A Lake County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee meeting addressed
the effects of growing marijuana Nov. 19. Matt Knudsen, special agent
for the Bureau of Land Management, told the crowd about what he finds
when he cleans marijuana gardens after growers leave.

"There's a weapon in every single marijuana grow I've been to,"
Knudsen said. "The public needs to be aware in the woods where they're
at."

I've heard many people say "Nobody's ever died from weed." Yes, people
have. Innocent people die over marijuana.

People involved in growing and trading the drug also die and
suffer.

Three people allegedly broke into a Lakeport man's home behind the
Record-Bee building in October and stole his 10 marijuana plants,
officials reported. They then hogtied, tortured and shot him, leaving
him for dead. He lived.

I don't know whether those charged are guilty and why the intruders
hurt the man.

What I do know is that marijuana isn't safe for just about
anyone.

This is an issue of illegally grown, sold and used marijuana, not the
usefulness of medical marijuana.

Some people get euphoric off the drug. But marijuana use can cause
short-term distorted perceptions, memory impairment and difficulty
thinking and solving problems, according to the National Institute on
Drug Abuse. Personally, I'd rather not reduce my ability to remember,
think and problem solve.

The drug also impairs learning, the ability to focus attention and
coordination. It also increases heart rate, can harm the lungs and can
cause psychosis in those at risk.

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary defines psychosis as a serious
mental disorder, such as schizophrenia, characterized by defective or
lost contact with reality often with hallucinations or delusions.

The possible effects don't seem worth the high.

Law enforcement officers have eradicated more marijuana plants in Lake
County than anywhere else in the state during the past three years,
officials said at the November meeting on environmental impacts of
growing marijuana.

Growers bring EPA-banned fertilizers into California from Mexico that
are toxic to humans and animals, Knudsen said. The fertilizers then
pollute streams, which is hard to reverse.

Not only do marijuana grows pollute the land with toxic fertilizers
and trash, but they use natural resources.

The average marijuana plant consumes three to five gallons of water
per plant per day, Knudsen said. With a 5,000-plant garden and a
90-day life cycle, the average garden consumes three to five million
gallons of water.

I would rather divert those gallons of water to growers of fruits,
vegetables and dairy farmers.

I have plenty of environmentally and health conscious friends and
acquaintances who drink out of Klean Kanteens, eat organic products
but still smoke marijuana. Conscientiousness needs to be encompassing.
I won't argue that all my decisions are for the better of the world
and myself, but I choose not to take part in marijuana use.

Marijuana is the most commonly abused substance in the United States,
according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

If people care about the environment, themselves and other people,
they won't buy, grow or use illicit marijuana.