ILLEGAL DRUGS SPARK VIOLENCE

Dear editor,

Regarding the letter, Legal pot tough to get, Andrew Brown is right,
the process involved in getting a Health Canada exemption for
medicinal marijuana is virtually impossible.

Compound that with the Conservatives Bill S-10 and those with an
medicinal exemption (to grow) will be easy target for violent grow-rip.

RCMP are, in fact, even pushing to get lists of exemptees with
permission to grow; citing safety concerns regarding grow-ops.

Considering how the mechanics of drug prohibition actually work,
including the notion of the fear of apprehension, one is hard-pressed
to find any reason to continue the criminalization of cannabis.

It could not be substantiated in 1923 and it cannot be substantiated
today. There is also the matter of associated violence.

A comprehensive study released Apr. 27, by the International Centre
for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP) exposed a deep connection between
drug law enforcement efforts and increases in drug-related crime,
homicide gun violence and many other things.

The executive summary, found at www.acsdp.org demonstrates the
commonalities between violence and the illicit drug trade in relation
to the impacts drug law enforcement interventions have on drug market
violence.

Wayne Phillips

Educators for Sensible Drug Policy

Hamilton, Ontario