WAR ON DRUGS NOT WORKING ANYWHERE IN N. AMERICA

To the Editor,

Re: Province is losing war on drug gangs, Alberni Valley News, Jan. 16.

RCMP marijuana eradication efforts are no doubt well-intended, but
ultimately counter-productive.

The drug war's distortion of immutable laws of supply and demand causes
big money to grow on little trees. Canadian tax dollars are wasted on
anti-drug strategies that only make pot 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, its prohibition contributes to organized
crime, and law enforcement efforts have little impact on patterns of use.

Based on findings that criminal records are inappropriate as health
interventions, a majority of European Union countries have decriminalized
marijuana.

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,

Washington, DC