Ganja is bad for worship

THE EDITOR, Madam:

IT APPARENTLY never fails ­ Jamaica is bound to get some politician or "intellectual" to advocate the legalisation of ganja. This time, ganja is a "sacrament" for the Rastafarians, which group the Public Defender now wishes the state to recognise as a religion on the par of Christianity, Judaism, and Mohammedism (sic).

Ganja for 'sacramental' uses, the Rastas say. But who's going to determine the 'sacramental' from the recreational? Let us examine the side effects of this 'sacrament' that Rastafarianism extols, and the Public Advocate now wants to recognise as a religion: increased heart rate; bloodshot eyes; dry mouth and throat; impaired or reduced comprehension; altered sense of time; reduced ability to perform tasks requiring concentration and co-ordination, such as driving a car (or operating machinery); altered motivation and cognition, making the acquisition of new information difficult; paranoia; psychological dependence; impairments in learning and memory, perception, and judgement; difficulty speaking, listening effectively, thinking, retaining knowledge, problem solving, and forming concepts; and intense anxiety or panic attacks.

Those are the results of taking ganja, as a 'sacrament' or otherwise. While some argue that ganja does more good than tobacco (particularly to those suffering serious illnesses, it also does more harm to a healthy person than it does good. "Look at the enthusiasm Jamaicans show for cultivating and distributing the weed!" Daniel Thwaites muses in his column. Has he or any other journalist pondered the apparent lack of Jamaican enthusiasm for producing anything else ­ like sugar, oranges, lemons, pineapples, tea, coffee, milk....and now green bananas?

When Jamaica gained her Independence, she used to produce a variety of commodities, and had a small industrial base with great potential for growth. All that potential has disappeared, while Jamaicans grow ganja with 'enthusiasm'!

I challenge the validity and value of any religion that requires the worshipper to take any substance - whether cultivated from the land or concocted in a lab - that impairs the worshipper's physical and mental health. Ganja is such a substance.

I am etc,

D. EDWARDS

E-mail: de9992@gateway.net

75 MacDonough Street

Brooklyn, NY

Via Go-Jamaica

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