PROS AND CONS OF MARIJUANA REFORM

Re: Marijuana Reform Must Go Further, editorial, March 7.

Up until last year, I purchased marijuana from a kind and honest
family man, who made trips to the deepest interior hills of B.C. to
get some of the best that independent growers had to offer. The most
potent was a strain he called "purple indica," and it took care of my
arthritis, the ups and downs of hormonal problems, nausea from a
dizziness condition and severe anxiety. I had applied to buy marijuana
legally, but my application for a medical exemption from the law was
turned down by various Alberta doctors.

So I went to the illegal dealer, which became increasingly expensive
and terrifying. After he was repeatedly threatened by a motorcycle
gang, my dealer was eventually forced to move.

Now, if my teenager wants a couple of joints for the weekend party, it
sickens me to think of where she has to go to get them.

Misguided laws have allowed criminal gangs to milk this cash cow for
all it's worth. Let's take it out of their hands.

Kathy Galbraith, Lethbridge, Alta.