WAR ON DRUGS CLEARLY NOT WORKING

Re: 'B.C. losing the war on drug gangs' (B.C. Views, Jan. 14)

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
neighbor, 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 and perhaps because of forbidden fruit
appeal, 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, D.C.