U.S. WAR A FLOP: JUDGE

The war on drugs isn't working and every American politician knows it.

But instead of making changes, politicians would rather continue receiving
war-on-drug funding, California state judge James Gray told members of the
Canadian Bar Association in Vancouver yesterday.

"Our biggest cash crop in California is marijuana," said Gray. "That shows
you how good of a job we're doing. We couldn't be doing worse if we tried."

Gray wants to see a push in America to decriminalize marijuana and treat it
like alcohol, but says there is too much money in the war on drugs for the
government to stop.

"It is big business to prosecute the war on drugs," he said. "And people in
the government do not want to give up that business. They realized that 70
per cent of people that use illegal drugs only use marijuana. If you
legislate marijuana, you lose your enemy in the war on drugs and the
funding that goes into it."

For all his criticism of American drug laws, Gray did chip in a few
positive comments about the way Vancouver has been handling its drug problems.

"You people in Vancouver seem to be getting it," he said referring to
decriminalization, safe injection sites and education programs.

"Keep at it; do what works."