MARIJUANA DOESN'T LEAD TO HARDER DRUGS

Register letter writer Robert Sharpe, who is the program officer of Drug
Policy Alliance in Washington, D.C., says that the government misrepresents
data about marijuana (Data misrepresented by the drug czar, Oct. 8). He is
right, at least in regard to the U.S. government.

Here in Canada, the Canadian Senate has just completed a comprehensive study
of the issue after hearing presentations from all medical and legal experts.
The Canadian Senate has found that the Gateway paradigm -- which says
marijuana leads to harder drugs -- is a sham (Canada has 3 million pot
smokers and only 50,000 heroin addicts; you do the math), and that marijuana
is not addictive, and is less harmful than alcohol and tobacco.

The Canadian Senate has recommended the legalization of marijuana.

Readers can view the Canadian Senate Report on Marijuana Legalization at
www.juror.ca.

CHUCK BEYER

Victoria, B.C.

Canada