REEFER MADNESS? OR SANITY?

Re: Don't Call It Reefer Madness, Barbara Kay, May 28.

So much misinformation, so little space. Briefly:

- -"Legalization will reduce harms" is not a theory "that will never be
tested in real life" -- it's tested every day in Holland with
considerable success.

- -Readily available cannabis will not increase consumption
- --demonstrated again by Holland, which has one of the lowest
consumption rates of both hard and soft drugs in the world.

- -I agree tobacco and cannabis are apples and oranges; I challenge Ms.
Kay to find one cannabis-only smoker who has gone on to get lung
cancer. -Cannabis users do not thrive "in solitude and mental
torpor." Ms. Kay should visit the various vapour lounges across the
country and meet some of the bright and engaging people she accuses
of cranial and social dormancy.

- -Ms. Kay talks about legalizing other drugs as if it's a bad thing,
or something cannabis supporters attempt to hide. The benefits of
supervised injection sites and heroin-prescription are commonly
understood and difficult to dispute.

I challenge Barbara Kay to a public debate on this subject. Anytime, anywhere.

David Malmo-Levine, curator, Herb Museum, Vancouver.