READ REPORT

It is Province columnist Jon Ferry who is off the mark on
marijuana.

He should take time to read the Senate report on marijuana, which
concludes that the pot laws are far more harmful than marijuana.

He should also read The Limited Relevance of Drug Policy: Cannabis in
Amsterdam and in San Francisco, a recent study published in the American
Journal of Public Health which compared marijuana use in San Francisco and
Amsterdam.

It found that a liberal marijuana policy is far more effective than
prohibition in stopping hard-drug use. It also found that total use
was more in San Francisco, showing that the law or "message" has
little effect in the U.S.

It seems that if access to marijuana is legal and controlled, the
proprietor is less likely to want to sell you cocaine in Amsterdam
coffee shops.

Consequently, Ferry not only supports a failed public policy but a
deadly one. He should realize prohibition is more dangerous than we
all thought.

Chuck Beyer

national director, NDP anti-prohibition wing

Port Alberni