FOCUS ON REAL CRIME

Re: For years, everyone saw this coming, March 5.

I agree with Dan Gardner that the U.S. notion of waging war on drugs does
not work. We can see that in Canada and the U.S., where hard and soft drugs
are as widely available as ever, indicating continued strong demand. I am
sure prices stayed on par for the last few decades, indicating a solid
source of supply.

Wasting police lives, public funds and energy to chase a common weed is
ridiculous. Why not legalize marijuana, collect taxes on its use, and use
the increased funds to redirect police and military operations towards
hard-core criminal activity such as murder or terrorism.

I realize that some people in the legal and police community had a
knee-jerk reaction to this incident and said that increased sentences for
marijuana trafficking would have prevented the tragedy. Let's be honest
with ourselves: Even a life-sentence would not have deterred the Alberta
man as he clearly chose the death sentence for himself after committing his
heinous crimes.

The demand for drugs will never decrease, so we should focus our energy on
the best way to control the supply. I do not believe that a war on
professional botanists is the best solution.

Tim O'Connor,

Ottawa