IGNORE REEFER MADNESS HYSTERIA

Regarding Alan Shanoff's Nov. 29 column, hazardous marijuana grow
operations are a direct result of marijuana prohibition. Legitimate
farmers do not steal electricity to grow produce in the basements of
rented homes. If legal, growing marijuana would be less profitable
then farming tomatoes. As it stands, the drug war distorts market
forces such that big money grows on little trees.

Canadian policymakers should ignore the reefer-madness hysteria of the
U.S. government and instead to look their own senate for guidance. In
the words of Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, "Scientific evidence
overwhelmingly indicates that cannabis is substantially less harmful
than alcohol and should be treated not as a criminal issue but as a
social and public health issue."

Senator Nolin's quote can be verified at:

http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/ille-e/press-e/04sep02-e.htm

Robert Sharpe, Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy
Washington, DC