PROHIBITING DRUGS HELPS TO CREATE BLACK MARKET

To the editor,

Re: Pictou Landing residents want police to tackle drug crimes.

When one considers that junk food will kill many times more Canadians than
all illegal drugs combined, it is puzzling to see the residents of Pictou
Landing making drugs such a high priority. Air pollution will kill more
people than drugs, as will car accidents caused by booze, and diabetes.

But then, "the drug epidemic" is a sensational news item, and a longtime
favourite of politicians seeking votes, and police officers seeking funding
and power.

In the last century, when alcohol was illegal, it wasn't the drunks,
speakeasy owners, or rumrunners who lobbied the government to repeal
prohibition. They liked prohibition because they made a lot of money and
had government and police officials on their payroll. The police liked
prohibition because it meant they were actually relevant.

The people who demanded regulation were mothers, grandmothers, and teachers
who saw that prohibiting any drug creates a black market that preys on
children.

How is it that people of 70 years ago were so much smarter than people today?

Russell Barth

Federal Medical Marijuana Licence Holder

Ottawa