SMOKING IN THE SENATE

Re: "Get off the pot and learn the facts," (Sept. 23). Our irrelevant
Senate has awakened from its perpetual snooze to promote legislation that
will put marijuana smokes on retail shelves all across Canada. They reason
that if marijuana is readily available, people will quit wanting it--just
like everyone has quit smoking cigarettes.

Unbelievably, the Senate has determined that marijuana is not addictive, is
not a gateway drug and is less hazardous to your health than cigarettes.
They claim to have done extensive research, mentioning the Netherlands and
Switzerland, whose liberal drug laws have caused huge problems and expenses.

The Senate says nothing about researching countries with centuries of
hashish use. A report by the Central Narcotics Intelligence Bureau of the
Egyptian Government says: "The prepared product of the cannabis sativa
plant is capable of profoundly disturbing the brain cells--it is in fact, a
thoroughly vicious and dangerous drug." They say much more, but this should
be enough to cause any sane person to move forward on this issue with a
great deal of caution.

A frequently held opinion is that because alcohol prohibition was a
failure, we should legalize marijuana. What a preposterous idea! If we were
to legalize everything that is difficult to control, we would eventually
have anarchy. Decriminalize use with controls, yes--and then provide police
with extraordinary powers to deal with organized crime.

Al C. Johnson Abbotsford, B.C.