SON, GET OUT THERE AND FEED THE CANINE

Medical marijuana - medical cannabis - same thing.

Letter writer and local smoke shop owner Mark Ryan takes issue this
week with our decision to refer to marijuana in a Nisqually Valley
News article last week as, well, marijuana.

One of the rules of journalism is to call things what they
are.

For example, some government leaders may prefer that we refer to
certain taxes as "fees levied" or some other term far less loathsome,
we're still going to call it a tax.

Referring to marijuana as cannabis throughout a newspaper article is
like referring to a dog as a canine, or a cat as a feline.

Do we ever tell our children to go walk the canine, or feed the
feline? Nope, most of us don't.

What's the everyday vernacular? That's what most readers
recognize.

I understand Ryan's argument and his reasoning behind it - that
cannabis sounds more medical, thus more legitimate.

Nonetheless, it's still marijuana.

In his letter to the editor, Ryan paraphrases Shakespeare, saying, "a
rose by any other name would still be a rose."

The line actually reads, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose.
By any other name would smell as sweet ..."

Regardless, in quoting that line, I think Ryan makes more of an
argument for using the word "marijuana" rather than "cannabis."

In journalism school, we learned the KISS rule - Keep It Simple,
Stupid! In itself, very simple and effective.

By keeping their writing simple, newspaper reporters must share their
information succinctly and effectively. They must keep sentences
tight, the information accurate and concise and they must avoid
getting heavy on prose or flowery talk.

The facts will speak for themselves.

Keeping it simple also forces a reporter to keep the thesaurus tucked
away and resist the urge to use big or fancy words to make themselves
look alittle smarter.

If you ever read government press releases, particularly from state or
federal officials, you'll get the idea. The objective of some
government leaders isn't to get a message out, it's to get the word
out in a light most positive to that particular official or agency.

A reporter's responsibility is to not get sucked into "governmentese."
It's a reporter's job to distill the facts in a way any reader can
easily understand and digest.

As for the medical marijuana controversy, it seems the momentum is
moving toward legalization, at the state level anyway.

While still incredibly controversial, medical marijuana seems to be
finding its place in mainstream society.

As medical costs rise, and the price of some prescription medications
skyrocket as well, many consumers are seeing marijuana as a legitimate
means of relieving pain.

One of the hardest things to witness is a loved one in the hospital,
suffering from pain. It brings to mind the scene in "Terms of
Endearment," when the mother, Shirley McLaine, screams at nurses to
administer pain medications to her dying daughter.

There are times when some of us would do anything to bring relief to
someone in severe pain.

At times like that, do a few puffs from a joint really seem like such
a bad thing?