MARIJUANA IS NOT GOING AWAY

RE YOUR Jan. 15 editorial: Marijuana, like any other marketable
product, falls under the law of supply and demand. The recent Barrie
bust indicates how huge the demand really is. I doubt all the Barrie
pot was destined for the Canadian market. To simply impose tougher
penalties for growing or distributing pot does nothing to stem demand.
The U.S. government's extremist attitude toward marijuana has netted
little gain in the war on pot (witness Ron Mann's documentary, Grass).
Marijuana, in one form or another, has been around for hundreds of
years. It's not going away. The problem seems to be who supplies it.
Legalize it, and take it out of the hands of all those who use its
profit for illegal activity and let the rest of us smoke it because we
find it pleasurable.

Ross Reynolds,

Toronto

(The biggest block to legalization in Canada is the hardline stance of
the U.S.)