WAR ON DRUGS NOT JUSTIFIABLE

Editor,

I enjoyed the "DARE does a disservice to kids" letter in theAug. 8
issue and wanted to add to that letter.All of his statements, sadly,
were true.The drug war and the hysteria it has created has caused us
to act like fools.The information used to make pot illegal is
laughable today.It was laughable at the time as well but people were
not as well educated then and didn't dare question the government or
police. For all of the hype about pot, cocaine, heroin, crystal meth
and any other new drug du jour that arrives, let us not forget that
the number one killer drug is alcohol.Alcohol is what is known as a
"hard" drug as it can kill you.You can overdose on alcohol and die
same as you can on heroin.Pot is a "soft" drug because no matter how
much you smoke or ingest it won't kill you. All drug deaths related
to all illegal drugs are a tiny drop in the bucket in comparison to
the death and destruction caused by legal alcohol.

So why do we call some drug dealers pushers, dealers, cockroaches and
other drug dealers government officials, liquor store employeesor
cold beer and wine store clerks?Why is it okay for the government,
alcohol and tobacco companies to make money off of drugs but not okay
for others? Considering the government's failed attempt to grow
decent marijuana, I would guess that they fear the competition.

People have used drugs since time began for enjoyment with the
majority suffering no ill effects. If a drug is truly harmful then
educate the citizens about it.The lies that have been told over the
past century in the effort to keep marijuana illegal has led to
people generally ignoring what the police and governments have to say
about drugs. Drug use is a health issue and should be dealt with
accordingly.We are long overdue for some sorely needed logic and
common sense to enter the drug war.

The criminalization of marijuana occurred in the U.S. as a way to
discriminate against the black population.Canada quickly followed
suit as, same as today, the government had no backbone when it came
to standing up to the Americans.We also had our own little racial
problem going on.The rail-road was finished and the hard-working,
underpaid Chinese were in the way. The white men protested and the
government made opium illegal.Marijuana was added to that list of
prohibited drugs with no debate and no valid reason.Police and
government have told out-right lies to make it illegal and many still
do to this day.Today not many people would believe the
government-sponsored cult film of the 1930s called 'Reefer Madness'
yet those falsehoods are quite often used as justification for
keeping marijuana illegal.

The drug war and the industry of jails, police, drug testing and
mandatory minimum sentencing that is has spawned is a
multi-billion-dollar business in the U.S. as well as a disgrace to a
country that prides itself on freedom. Just imagine what could be
done if that money was spent on something useful instead of being
wasted on big business and the police state?Canadians moan about the
cost of the ill-fated gun registry and rightfully so yet many ignore
the fact that we waste the equivalent amount of money per year on the drug war.

The Senate Committee on the Legalization of Marijuana recommended
outright legalization of pot.After listening to Canadians all across
the country and looking at the evidence they realized that the drug
war is a dismal failure.It is prohibition itself that causes 95 per
cent of the problems associated with any illegal drug as well as
provides money to criminal organizations.This is something we all
learned in high school when we read about alcohol prohibition.It
didn't work then and it certainly isn't working now.B.C. marijuana
was practically worthless until the U.S. stepped up the war on drugs
in the early '80s. The Senate Committee realized that legalization
was a bold move but they felt that Canadians had the intelligence to
accept such a debate.I fear that the Senate Committee grossly
overestimated the intelligence of our elected officials.

There are only two reasons that our government would continue the
drug war in its current form.One is ignorance. The other is
stupidity. Having a Reform/Alliance/Conservative/What name are we
this election government that puppets the U.S. Republican Party does
not give me much confidence in the future of my country.

Lynne Williams,

Ladysmith