RE MARIJUANA GROW-OP SERIES

It's Deputy PM Anne McLellan (Nov. 29), not lenient judges, who needs
education about marijuana prohibition. She implies judges are at fault
because the sentences for grow-ops are not harsh enough. But harsher
sentences (and mandatory minimums) won't impact marijuana use, cultivation
or trafficking. One glance at the U.S. demonstrates a "war on drugs"
approach is not a solution but, rather, a contributing factor to the
problem. Prohibition imposes significantly more social and economic costs
than marijuana use or cultivation. The reason organized crime is involved
in the marijuana trade is because it is an illegal and, thus, unregulated
marketplace. Legalize and regulate pot and you'll immediately remove many
of the social costs McLellan bemoans. Every major study of pot use in
Canada concludes harsher sentences aren't the answer -- significant reform,
including legalization, is.

Kirk Tousaw

Detroit

(Nice try, but the facts show tough laws in the U.S. and a crackdown in
B.C. are the major reason the gangs have moved their grow-ops here)