POT NOT A SOCIAL EVIL

Dear editor:

Regarding RCMP Const. Ed Turgeon's April 16th column, hazardous
marijuana grow operations are a direct result of marijuana
prohibition. Legitimate farmers do not steal electricity to grow
produce in the basements of rented homes. If legal, growing marijuana
would be less profitable than farming tomatoes. As it stands, the drug
war distorts market forces such that big money grows on little trees.

Rather than continue to subsidize organized crime, Canadian
policymakers should ignore the reefer madness hysteria of the U.S.
government and instead to look their own Senate for guidance. In 2002,
the Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs concluded that
marijuana is relatively benign, marijuana prohibition contributes to
organized crime, and law enforcement efforts have little impact on
patterns of use. In the words of Senator Pierre Claude Nolin,
"Scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicates that cannabis is
substantially less harmful than alcohol and should be treated not as a
criminal issue but as a social and public health issue."

Thank you for your consideration. Senator Nolin's quote can be
verified at:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/ille-e/press-e/04sep02-e.htm

Sincerely,

Robert Sharpe, MPA Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

www.csdp.org

Washington, DC