MARIJUANA ADVOCATES UNITE

The "drug war" is based in racism (read about Emily Murphy) and
profiteering by oil and cotton companies that lobbied incessantly to
make it illegal and, in fact, coined the term "marijuana" and claimed
it made people go crazy.

I can't believe you printed her letter, as none of her statements have
any scientific or sociological backing. That's what makes her the "bad
guy," not because you don't agree with drugs, but because you haven't
even bothered to research the subject, yet have formed an opinion.

It saddens me to think this 15-year-old will have to deal with this
mother who won't accept responsibility and instead blame a plant that
has caused NO deaths in over 6,000 years of recorded use, unlike the
following legal drugs: caffeine, tobacco and alcohol, all of which are
harder (except caffeine) to get for minors than "pot," because keeping
it illegal keeps it in the hands of so-called drug dealers.

Just remember, Ms. Whoever, before the 1920s there was no such thing
as a drug dealer, and only adults could purchase ANY drug at the
general store, yet addiction to any of said drugs was less than 0.0004
per cent compared to today.

William Bradley

Kitchener, Ont.

Editor's note: Seldom does one single piece in the Lacombe Globe
generate such a major response.

Two issues ago, we printed a letter titled, "Marijuana and cigarette
consequences irk mom," in which a high school student's mother was
disgusted that her son was fined for having cigarettes but not marijuana.

Our policy of not running anonymous letters didn't apply--neither the
mom nor son could be identified due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act,
but the contents of the letter were too interesting to ignore.

Within a week of the letter being published, my e-mail inbox began to
fill up. Marijuana advocates from across Canada were dismayed.

Here's a taste of what they said.