Pot legalization a disservice to our youth

Re: Liberals taking high road with pot, to protect kids from black market — April 15

Federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says legalizing pot is the best way to keep this drug out of the hands of impressionable and still developing children. Bill Blair, the ex-Toronto police chief, says the objective is not to promote the use of pot but to allow its safe, socially responsible use. Do these guys really believe this? Our own Police Chief Bryan Larkin says personal plants are hard to control and hard to keep out of the hands of youth.

Have Justin Trudeau and his government not read recent reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics? This report suggests that the brain continues to develop until the early 20s and that the use of pot can develop changes in the brain regions affecting memory and the ability to plan. It is also reported that early teen use may lower IQ scores and some studies have shown that use at a young age is more likely to lead to addiction. Then what comes next?

Mr. Trudeau, why will you not listen to the medical profession? Decriminalize marijuana if you must. Make it a prescription drug like other dangerous drugs and therefore available for those who need it. But not for our youth.

I know that growing, distribution and use have been difficult to control and I am sure that governments drool for the tax revenues that the sale of marijuana will generate. But these are hardly reasons to make it legal.

Mr. Trudeau, you and your government are doing the youth of Canada and all Canadians a major disservice. You are putting our youth at risk. David E. Carse Cambridge