RESPONSE TO LEGAL MARIJUANA ISSUE

Re: "Health officer back legal marijuana" Sooke News Mirror, Jan. 4, 2012.

It's commendable that B.C. public health officers recognize the
obvious pitfalls of cannabis (marijuana) prohibition however, some
clarifications must be made. Cannabis may not be totally safe but it
hasn't directly killed anyone in over 5,000 years of documented use.
That's safety on a Biblical scale.

Cannabis should be RE-legalized, regulated and taxed because it is
far safer than alcohol and it is here for the duration anyway. Why
keep forcing the dangerous underground black market to regulate a
business that is guaranteed to continue?

Citizens, including teens, who purchase cannabis may be doing so from
people who also sell hard drugs which increases hard drug addiction
rates. Selling the extremely popular God-given plant cannabis like
alcohol would remove hard drugs from the equation.

One recent study even indicates states which have legalized medical
cannabis are experiencing lower alcohol usage and less traffic
fatalities (Study: States That Legalized Medical Pot See Decrease,
The Missoulian, Dec. 28, 2011).

Stan White

Dillon, Colorado