LETTER WRITER MISSES THE MARK

Dear Editor:

In response to Alan Randells' letter "Drug prohibition Hitler-like horror."

Millions of hard-working Canadians use alcohol and cigarettes, too, and the
cost to the 'government' you speak of, which pays the bill, is great. These
two government-sponsored addictions put our health care, education and
infrastructure systems in the hole (just to name a few). They defer our tax
money from such causes as homelessness and feeding the hungry to fund
cancer and addiction treatment centres.

This is what gives the government the right to tell its citizens what they
can and can't ingest. I will say, however, that the idea of alcohol and
cigarettes being the choice of legal drugs is a backward choice; but this
still falls a long way short of comparing our system to a murdering Nazi
regime.

I don't know that decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana is right or wrong
and until these steps are taken and their impact felt, no one knows. I do
know that a drug is a drug and drugs bring with them an element of horror
that does compare to Hitler.

Keith Larocque

Airdrie