SMOKE, MIRRORS

Pot - Re: "Buying Product Rewards Bad Guys," Nigel Hannaford, Opinion, Oct. 28.

Having a cold beer after work was also illegal in many provinces for
a time in the early 1900s. I will bet few were concerned that this
was aiding and abetting the criminal underworld and their illegal breweries.

More than likely, they thought the government was a little daft for
outlawing what has been a popular thirst quencher for centuries.

Prohibiting marijuana, which also has long been a popular
recreational drug, and lumping it in with harder drugs is just as ludicrous.

Its harmful health and social effects are but a blip on the radar
compared to alcohol and cigarettes.

Legalize it, control it, tax it and you take away the base of a large
criminal enterprise rendering grow-ops and smuggling useless. If they
persist, you can bust them for income tax evasion. Nobody in his or
her right mind would mess with Revenue Canada.

Tom Love,

Calgary