THE JURY IS STILL OUT ON LEGALIZING POT

The following letters were received in response to The Sun's four
editorials about marijuana last week.

I disagree with legalizing marijuana. The March 11 editorial says Canada
has lost the war on marijuana grow-ops. I think the government hasn't
really tried hard enough to win it.

Why are our legislators so reluctant to change the Criminal Code to make
penalties harsher for these hardened criminals who are making millions of
dollars in growing marijuana? Is it easier for our elected representatives
to just throw in the towel and legalize marijuana so that the legal system
doesn't look like such a big failure?

Your editorial suggests Canada could deal with marijuana production and use
by legalizing it and setting up a national strategy on drugs to try to
regulate its growth and use. Why not use that time, effort and taxpayers'
money to hire more police, change the Criminal Code and build more jails to
house the criminals?

Margaret Downer

Port Coquitlam