BORDERLINE INSANITY

In his essay "Stirring the Pot" [May 19], Stephen Handleman wrote on U.S.
concerns about a radical plan to overhaul Canada's marijuana laws. When
Bush Administration officials talk of tightening already strict border
inspections because of Canada's drug-reform plans, Canadians and Americans
should remember the lesson of Operation Intercept. On Sept. 21, 1969, the
Nixon Administration began searching all vehicles crossing into the U.S.
from Mexico. Border traffic was paralyzed. After protests from the
American business community, the operation ended three weeks later. Despite
the warnings issued by President Bush's drug czar, John Walters, a massive
trade interruption between the U.S. and Canada for such a trivial issue
will not be repeated at the U.S.'s northern frontier.

Tim Meehan Communications Director Ontario Consumers for Safe Access to
Recreational Cannabis