LEGALIZE MARIJUANA TO CUT THE CRIME RATE

Re: "In the war on marijuana, individuals have rights," column, April 17.

If we were honest with ourselves regarding the criminalization of
cannabis we would arrive at the conclusion that the current situation
is not working.

Paul Willcocks's column regarding illegal grow-ops ends by wondering
if we could eliminate the risk of grow-ops in neighbourhoods, and the
role of criminal gangs in profiting from the industry, by allowing
individuals to grow their own. That's like saying you can have
tomatoes if you grow your own. Not many people would grow their own
and the "black market" supply in tomatoes would still exist.

Until we accept what the Senate committee report said in 2002 and
legalize cannabis, we will not eradicate the illegal production of
it. Until we legalize marijuana, regulate and tax it, we will
continue to waste our valuable time and energy -- resources that
could be better spent fighting illegal production of marijuana by
unlicensed criminal elements.

Fred Mallach,

Victoria.