PROHIBITION THE CAUSE OF DANGERS IN GROWING POT

Re: 'Canada's pot conundrum' (Daily News, Jan. 5)

I would like to ask Paul Walton what he thinks the correlation between
the dangers of alcohol use and cannabis use is?

He states the problems with alcohol in our society but fails to back
it up with any legitimate reasons why marijuana will cause similar
problems.

The fact is that there are millions of deaths globally every year
related to alcohol, but not a single death related to cannabis. Also,
ask any police officer how many domestic calls are related to alcohol
abuse and how many related to cannabis abuse?

The answers to those questions will most likely be 'most,' and 'none.'
And what about the medical benefits of cannabis and the medical
benefits of alcohol? The answers to these question will also be
'many,' and 'none.'

Walton was right about one thing: Gangs and violence gravitate towards
the easy profits attainable in the black market production and sale of
prohibited substances. Therefore, I would agree that prohibition is
the only cause of any physical dangers that may be associated with
cannabis as a recreational drug or medication.

Carl Anderson

Kamloops