GROW HOUSES WILL CONTINUE TO THRIVE WHILE POT IS ILLEGAL

I will start out by stating that there is one thing I do agree with in Tim
Whitnell's column (Sept. 19, The Post); no one should drive under the
influence of anything -- period. Not alcohol, marijuana, speed,
over-the-counter prescription drugs that alter your alertness, cocaine, etc.
It's just wrong and shouldn't be tolerated.

But you cannot put the blame squarely on cannabis. People have been drinking
and driving for years, but they haven't stopped selling alcohol in
government-run liquor stores.

There will always be a criminal element in anything; you can't get rid of
that. But do you want to get rid of the illegal grow houses that are now
"sprouting up" all over Burlington? Here's what you do: allow those who
consume the product to grow their own, without persecution.

Why should someone be allowed to make his/her own wine, but one can't grow a
few plants to, in essence, satisfy the same needs? I think the current laws
are outdated, hypocritical and downright prejudiced.

Also, allow the government to grow it as well. It would be terrible, like
everything else they touch, but it will over-saturate the market.

Criminals who cannot make money on something quickly move on to other
endeavours.

Worried young Johnny and Suzy in high school getting hold of the "evil
weed?" Guess what, they already do, as well as booze and tobacco, so
changing the laws won't change a thing.

I believe the federal government's introduction of Bill C-38 is a travesty,
like anything else they do.

Bob Cunningham,

Burlington (By e-mail)