THE MARIJUANA MORALITY CARD

Who are you going to believe as to whether marijuana use is harmful, the
police or the Canadian Medical Association (Police officers launch drive
against pot decriminalization, May 28)? The CMA says there are minimal
health risks with moderate use while the Canadian Police Association
claims all sorts of risk factors.

The police have a vested interest in keeping marijuana illegal and are
using decades-old thinking to back them up.

Marijuana is no more a "gateway drug" than caffeine, nicotine, alcohol or
Valium. Experimentation with harder drugs is more likely the result of
cynicism from being lied to by authorities than the use of pot itself.
While alcohol and tobacco kill tens of thousands of Canadians each year, we
never hear about death from marijuana.

More and more, we are learning of health benefits. The police are playing
the morality card to appeal to the conservative right, but they stand on
weak ground. What is really immoral is using your tax dollars to boost the
profits of organized crime and ruining the lives of half a million
Canadians just to provide jobs for the police and the legal system.

Ron van der Eerden
Vancouver