MORE HARM BY IMPRISONMENT

There is nothing harmful about marijuana. What is harmful is putting
people in prison for using it.

Thirty-thousand pot smokers were put in prison last year. Ordinary
citizens who carry a lunch bucket to work or wear a tie for 40 hours a week
are victims of an insane drug war costing billions of dollars.

The federal government and local authorities concentrate their power in
arresting the innocuous users because they are easy prey. Illegal
pharmacists make millions, enjoy their fancy cars, 30-room houses and
expensive lawyers. The users are put into expensive prisons with rapists,
murderers and brutal guards for 20 years. Severe depression, coupled with
being separated from loved ones, will result in more harm to individuals
than using marijuana.

In many cases these victims of federal terrorism are stripped of all
property they spend their life accumulating, for no more than simple
possession of incredibly small amounts. This is a terrible injustice for
any citizen in a land that is supposed to be free.

Regardless of the rationale, nothing about the harm of marijuana use can
possibly compare to the harm of being imprisoned. The drug war must
stop. If for no other reason, we must preserve the principle of equal
justice for all.

Larry Little
Vancouver