NO CONFLICT

Dear Editor:

Re: "Pot panned" (Sept. 9).

Letter writer S.A. Campbell asked, "Am I reading this correctly? The
government is actually considering legalizing pot? What about all the
negative research about second-hand smoke and the huge campaign to stamp
out smoking?" The answers are no, no and read the report.

I see no conflict between recognizing that tobacco is a public health
problem and treating it as such, and recognizing that excessive cannabis
use is a public health problem and treating it as such.

The question is not "How can the government possibly consider these as two
separate issues?" but rather, "Why does the government continue to treat
them as two separate issues?"

Matthew M. Elrod, Victoria, B.C.