DON'T REVISIT NEW DRUG LAWS: EXPERT

The Conservative government said yesterday it would not be revisiting
the Liberal plan to decriminalize marijuana.

That's a step backwards, according to ex-Seattle police chief and
outspoken drug legalization advocate Norm Stamper.

"In this hemisphere, Canada is leading the way. You've got a new
government that is going to retard some of that progress," he
predicted one day before the announcement.

Stamper said his 34 years of experience as a cop convinced him that
prohibition only "creates an underworld of criminal activity." He
also discounted the theory that marijuana leads to harder drugs.

Stamper noted that many scientific studies back up his conclusions,
but said such evidence is undermined by the "propaganda machine" that
sustains the war on drugs. He accused U.S. drug warriors of taking
their battle into other countries, including Canada.