ELIMINATE ORGANIZED CRIME

Editor, The News:

Re: Lilah Rauh's letter of Dec. 28 ('Is legal coke next?'):

After reading her letter for the third time, I believe she is opposed to
the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana. Newsflash! Possession
of small amounts of pot is already defacto legal in B.C.

Police have ignored possession of small amounts of pot for years, because
they have bigger fish to fry, such as crystal meth, cocaine, crack, heroin
and ecstasy.

The marijuana herb has been used for millennia for its medicinal and
recreational values, but has only been illegal for about 70 years. We all
know of its medical properties - and we also know of the dangers of smoking
any substance.

The evidence is overwhelming relating to the harm caused to society by
keeping possession of this herb a criminal offence. The evidence is also
clear that our 50-year war on drugs has only made the situation worse.

Case in point: We did not have a $5 billion grow-op economy in B.C. 20
years ago.

We could carry on this expensive folly for another 50 years, or we could
decriminalize and eliminate the profits to organized crime.

Gord McIvor

Abbotsford