“I believe Senator Respicio has shown true backbone for bringing this issue to a discussion,” Dr. Chris Curran Dombrowski said. “I am not for the legalization of cannabis. I advocate the regulation of cannabis.”
He said cannabis must be regulated in a way that would require a prohibition on public advertising. “If we legalize cannabis, then some soul-less corporation, utilizing the media, will shove it down your kids’ lungs,” Dombrowski said.
He added that the economic profit must be split between the education and healthcare sectors.
Dombrowski suggested that the University of Guam and the Department of Agriculture be allowed to grow, study, and market cannabis to government-run coffee shops or similar outlets.
Dr. Tom Shieh said: “I am definitely not advocating for it.”
He described marijuana as “a mind-altering drug” that users should be careful about.
“If they introduce legislation, they need to look at the impact on the health and welfare of the people of Guam,” Shieh said. “We do not need to add marijuana; it is not a safe drug.
He said using marijuana is just as bad as smoking cigarettes for a person’s lungs. “People do become intoxicated and could get into accidents on the road as well as setting a bad example of smoking for children,” Shieh added.
Dombrowski, however, disagreed with Shieh. “To state that cannabis is just as harmful as cigarette is just ignorance to me and to any other individual who does his homework. As for the children, we are dealing overall with the issue of responsible recreational drug use,” he added.
Sheih said in a medical use context he does think the most harmful health effect would be the inhaling of the smoke and the inability for a doctor to control the dosage of THC, the main active chemical in marijuana. He said he would rather see more studies and research. “They were able to concentrate it in a pill form, where a doctor can prescribe it.”
Dombrowski said the proposal involves a moral issue. “Cannabis is a gift from God’s own green pharmacy. The question I always have to naysayers or people in fear is: ‘Isn’t nature legitimate?” he said. The idea that the average citizen and others who have no training in clinical pharmacology or basic medical science, have a say in what a physician can or cannot prescribe to his patient is incredibly stupid,” Dombrowski said.
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