PROHIBITION BITES

Editor, the Gauntlet,

The main reason marijuana is still illegal is because the police want
it that way ["Marijuana legalization at the public library," AEndrew
Rininsland, March 5]. Marijuana prohibition offers police all the
leverage they need to harass the young, the poor, people of colour and
people with non-regulation haircuts.

They worry that ending prohibition would reduce crime and therefore
reduce their powers and budgets. Marijuana prohibition is as much a
cash cow for police as it is for gangsters and they will not let it go
without a fight. Which raises some questions, like, "Why are we still
listening to cops when the War On Plants has been such a dismal
failure?" and, "If prohibition is such a great policy, why can't the
police show any evidence to support that?"

Russell Barth

Federally Licensed Medical Marijuana User

Patients Against Ignorance and Discrimination on Cannabis (PAIDOC) -
www.paidoc.org