'TRILLIONS' WASTED ON FIGHTING POT

Editor:

The decriminalization of marijuana is a no-brainer. There is no
question that the war on drugs has been a total failure and a total
waste of taxpayer money. We have wasted trillions of dollars trying to
enforce a flawed ideal.

We see the end results in the papers and on the news every day,
gangsters shooting each other to get control of the outrageous profits
from illegal drugs. We are also ruining other countries with our
irrational behavior, for example, Mexico, Colombia where the
government is afraid to arrest drug cartel members, even Afghanistan
and we know where those illegal drug profits go - to fund the
terrorists that are killing our soldiers.

These gangsters have more money than the governments that are trying
to run these countries. The champions of continuing this insanity will
tell you that the policy isn't bad we just haven't enforced it
severely enough. Well you only have to look at America to see the
folly of that statement.

One out every 100 Americans is behind bars and almost half are there
as a result of drug charges, which gives America the highest
incarceration rate in the world. In fact you would have to give them
an A for effort on fighting the so-called drug war, but quite simply
prohibition doesn't work, never has, never will. Albert Einstein said
the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and
expecting different results.

Wayne Clark

Maple Ridge