DON'T FOLLOW U.S. IN DRUG WAR FIASCO

I was pleased to be a speaker June 13, at Vancouver's International
Symposium on Crime Prevention & Drug Treatment, organized by Mayor Philip
Owen. The conference provided a great deal of information and allowed
people with diverse viewpoints to express themselves. My own message was
that I hope that Canada, which is so wise to avoid the United States'
foolish lack of gun control, will also reject my country's failed drug war
policies which have increased drug use, crime, corruption, and violence.

I was impressed by the article in your June 13, 1998 issue written by
Messieurs Boyd, Conroy, and Puder urging a less punitive and more humane
policy toward cannabis. Gil Puder, a Vancouver police officer, deserves
special recognition for his courage in publicly stating what many
officers feel but fear to articulate.