EXPOSE THE ABSURDITY OF THE POT WAR

RE "JOBS may go to pot" (May 9): U.S. drug czar John Walters says if Canada
decriminalizes the personal use of marijuana, then we're really going to
tighten our border. How can anyone take him seriously? Walters and his
fellow crusaders spend billions in taxpayer dollars every year, allegedly
to stamp out marijuana. But check around any American city and you'll find
no shortage of the plant and its adherents. A change in Canadian policy
will have no impact on the U.S. cannabis market. The major effect will be
to further expose the absurdity of the pot war when Canadian society not
only fails to collapse, but actually improves after cannabis reform. I
suspect that's the real reason for Walters' blustery overreaction.

Stephen Young

Schaumburg, Ill.

(We'll see)