HARDLINE POLICIES ARE CRAZY

Canadians are crazy if they think hardline policies in the U.S. have
deterred marijuana use and production ("Cops go for the green," Jan. 31).
For the past two decades, a consistent 50% of U.S. high school seniors have
tried marijuana, a figure much higher than that of the tolerant Netherlands.

Mean-spirited proposals to ratchet up prison sentences for marijuana
growers will only bolster the profit motive and further drain taxpayer dollars.

In California, we spend more money on prisons than we do on education,
largely due to huge sentences for non-violent drug crimes. Is that what
Canadians want?

Ellen Komp

Mill Valley Calif.

(More to the point, is that what the Canadian government wants?)