SOBER SECOND THOUGHT

G.D. Maxwell's March 10th column was right on target. Hazardous
marijuana grow operations are a direct result of marijuana
prohibition. Legitimate farmers do not steal electricity to grow
produce in the basements of rented homes. If legal, growing marijuana
would be less profitable then farming tomatoes. As it stands, the drug
war distorts market forces such that an easily grown weed is literally
worth its weight in gold.

Rather than continue to subsidize organized crime, Canadian
policymakers should ignore the reefer madness hysteria of the U.S.
government and instead look to their own Senate for guidance. In the
words of Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, "Scientific evidence
overwhelmingly indicates that cannabis is substantially less harmful
than alcohol and should be treated not as a criminal issue but as a
social and public health issue."

Robert Sharpe, MPA

Policy Analyst

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington, D.C.