WAR ON DRUGS HELPS THE DEALERS

Please consider publishing the following brief letter in response to
Tom Fletcher's Jan. 14th column:

RCMP marijuana eradication efforts are no doubt well-intended, but
ultimately counterproductive. The drug war's distortion of immutable
laws of supply and demand causes big money to grow on little trees.

Canadian tax dollars are being wasted on anti-drug strategies that
only make marijuana growing more profitable. In 2002, the Canadian
Senate offered a common sense alternative to prohibition when the
Special Committee on Illegal Drugs concluded that marijuana is
relatively benign, marijuana prohibition contributes to organized
crime, and law enforcement efforts have little impact on patterns of use.

Consider the experience of Canada's southern neighbour, the former
land of the free and current record holder in citizens incarcerated.
Based on findings that criminal records are inappropriate as health
interventions, a majority of European Union countries have
decriminalized marijuana. Despite marijuana prohibition lifetime use
of marijuana is higher in the U.S. than any European country. The
short-term health effects of marijuana are inconsequential, compared
to the long-term effects of criminal records. Canada should follow
the lead of Europe and Just Say No to the American Inquisition.

Robert Sharpe

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, DC