Regarding the Nov. 28 article "Cops target online weed seed ads": The cannabis plant is the single most usable plant known to mankind. The fiber of the cannabis plant makes an extraordinarily tough fabric, as for sailcloth, or it can be made into all sorts of garments, some surprisingly soft and others with a canvaslike weave for making "blue jeans" and the like.
The lowly cannabis plant can produce pulp for paper, out- supplying trees because of plant density per hectare. One may harvest trees after so many years, but cannabis yields a harvest every year! Cannabis helps the afflicted cope with the pain of muscular sclerosis, relieves pressure in the eyeball for glaucoma-sufferers, and helps restore the appetite of those undergoing chemotherapy. Those with arthritis find cannabis a godsend. Scientific papers published after peer review state that the use of cannabis slows the growth of many cancers.
Cannabis is not addictive like alcohol. The effects of alcohol are sometimes seen in newborns whose mothers drank while pregnant — fetal alcohol syndrome. There is no similar syndrome with cannabis. Yes, many people enjoy cannabis to get high, relax, contemplate. Its effects produce a spiritual lift, not the rabid foaming at the mouth, vomiting and cursing that alcohol often engenders. It should be legal for adults to own, grow or use cannabis as they see fit, as with any other herb.