U.S. ADDICTION CULTURE

Re: PM's Jokes On Marijuana Outrage U.S., Oct. 10.

So John Walters, director of the U.S. National Drug Policy Office, thinks
Canadians are ashamed of Prime Minister Jean Chretien for his joking about
trying marijuana when he retires. On what does Mr. Walters base this claim?
I most certainly am neither ashamed nor offended: Like Mr. Chretien and
other Canadians, I am intelligent and have a sense of humour, qualities
that seem to be lacking in the U.S. administration.

The U.S. could be hermetically sealed against the rest of the world and it
would still have a drug problem, because the roots of addiction lie in
satisfying emotional, mental or spiritual wants. Physiological dependence
is the last thing to occur in the process. Rather than spending all kinds
of money attacking the supply of drugs, Mr. Walters should invest those
resources to address the emotional, mental and spiritual needs of his
fellow Americans. Maybe once the demand is removed, the supply will go away.

Karen Sinclair,
Kanata