UNFUNNY POT SHOTS

U.S. anti-drug czar John Walters makes no secret of his intense dislike for
Canadian moves toward more relaxed marijuana laws. He objects to
decriminalizing pot use and doesn't even want the stuff distributed to sick
people for medicinal reasons.

Mr. Walters is so irate he can't see the humour in Prime Minister Jean
Chretien's recent remarks about perhaps trying pot in retirement once it
becomes legal. He told a Washington think-tank that Canadians are "ashamed"
of their Prime Minister.

And he went even further, calling Canada "the once place in the hemisphere
where things are going the wrong [way]" in the war on drugs.

That's in contrast to his high praise for Colombia, which has managed to
reduce coca cultivation by 15 per cent in the past year. That doesn't make
much of a dent in world supply and isn't much of a return on the more than
$25-billion (U.S.) handed over to Colombia in the past three years
specifically to combat cocaine production and trafficking.

Nor can Mr. Walters point to any great victories on U.S. soil, where strong
demand remains the biggest problem, and where several states are following
the Canadian example of looking for alternatives to unrealistic penalties
for simple marijuana possession.

The man plainly needs a rest. Perhaps a Valium would help.