DOOBIE WARNING

Toronto -- While I had to laugh at most of Paul Sullivan's column on the
secret to B.C.'s economic success (The Dopesters Of La-La Land -- July 17),
I did find the reference to the "criminal infrastructure" that runs and
benefits most from the marijuana market chilling. Can anyone say Al Capone?
The argument is so worn that it's embarrassing to drag it out in public again.

Let's outlaw tobacco. Let's bring back prohibition. Or, rather, let's keep
our heads well and truly in the sand in the belief that by calling two
addictive drugs permissible and manageable, we have the problem licked.
Let's ensure a fair place in society for the criminals who run the drug trade.

If the market for pot is so substantial, doubtless the evidence of its harm
to the users is equally weighty. I'm looking forward to the enlightened age
when packages of state-controlled (and taxed, to be sure) doobies come with
the graphic warning: "Continuous use of marijuana can make you silly."