DESPITE BENEFITS, POT IS ILLEGAL

Regarding Paul Willcocks' April 17 column "In the war on marijuana,
individuals still have rights," I was appalled at the suggestion that
"allowing people to grow a handful of plants without penalty would
reduce the threat to neighbourhoods and the available profits for
gangs." Shame on him.

Marijuana is an illegal drug. It is against the law of this country
to possess or produce it. It shouldn't matter that it has never been
linked to a fatality, has few addictive properties, is widely used
and linked to few health defects, and has been spoken in favour of by
such learned individuals as Pierre Berton and Carl Sagan. The fact
that it is less toxic than either nicotine or alcohol and has proven
medical use in fighting glaucoma and increasing the appetite of
patients in chemotherapy is completely beside the point.

That busting illegal marijuana grow-ops is expensive in police time
and resources is just indicative of the need for action.

Even though marijuana use has advanced to the point where police
almost never arrest users, and where the government could stand to
make a substantial financial gain by legalizing it and profiting from
its sale and taxation while enforcing age regulations, and at the
same time cutting costs spent fighting it and crippling the income of
organized gangs in one fell swoop, we must be strong.

Marijuana is illegal. And doing illegal things is bad.

Right?

Adam Bard,

Victoria.