POT LEGALIZATION A DANGEROUS ROAD

THE EDITOR:

I have nothing against legalizing marijuana for medical use. However, after
reading Cale Cowan's column 'Call it the Cheech & Chong Program' (Times,
Dec. 11, Page 8), which pleads for the decriminalization of all drug usage,
I was forcibly reminded of the report in the August 2000 edition of the
Reader's Digest titled, 'Holland's half-baked drug experiment.'

Among the negative results of that experiment - and there are many - one
single glaring fact stands out, and it cuts through all the lofty rhetoric
about legalization being the silver bullet solution to the drug problem.

It is this: Holland, the only country in Europe to have legalized marijuana
(1976), is now the drug capital of Europe.

Is that what we want for Canada?

Bert Warden, Abbotsford