RECONSIDER MARIJUANA

As the BC Marijuana Party candidate for Powell River/Sunshine Coast, I was
disappointed to be given a rotten raspberry ("Roses and raspberries,"
February 14)

Marijuana cultivation is one of BC's main economic engines, bringing
billions of dollars into our provincial economy, much of this in Powell
River and the Sunshine Coast. Marijuana farming brings food and clothing
to many families in this region, and we should be capitalizing on this
home-grown economy, not trying to destroy it.

Most British Columbians accept that marijuana is an essentially harmless
herb with many valuable medicinal and social uses. The hundreds of
millions of dollars that BC spends each year to send heavily armed SWAT
teams after basement gardens would be better spent on health care or education.

Cannabis cultivation offers many exciting new opportunities for employment
and agricultrue in BC. There is an increasing worldwide demand for both
industrial and medicinal cannabis products, and BC is in an excellent
position to capitalize on this emerging global economy.

I encourage all British Columbians to consider the truly new and innovative
solutions of the BC Marijuana Party, rather than simply recycling old
politicians from failed past regimes.

Dana Larsen