AS WITH ALCOHOL BEFORE, ANSWER IS NO PROHIBITION

The Editor,

Re. "The year: 2005. The story: Grow ops" (The Tri-City News, Dec. 31).

All the dangers being associated with cannabis in your articles
neglect to make the connection to all the old ills of alcohol
prohibition. Gangs, violence, moonshine of unknown quality and
composition, turf wars, higher homicide rates ?" they were all
problems caused by the prohibition of a substance that people
obviously wanted enough to defy authorities to get.

We may still have the ills of overindulgence in alcohol but tommy
gun-toting gangsters are not engaging in gun battles in the streets
to protect their booze profits. Illegal and dangerous stills are not
producing bathtub gin. Alcohol money is not fuelling corruption.

We do have a modern equivalent, though.

With alcohol and tobacco, the average citizen is trusted to make his
own choices. If people should have a problem, they can get help.
Legal problems may arise from a person's conduct under the influence
of alcohol but not simply for having it. Companies employ thousands,
government taxation can help offset social harms and quality can be assured.

Somehow, all this sense and reason is tossed out the window for
cannabis, which, like alcohol, is a much sought-after recreational
drug with many medical benefits, unlike alcohol, in that it is far
less harmful. Users are subject to arrest, confiscation of property,
incarceration and unfairly targeted by drug testing.

The only way to solve many of the problems associated with cannabis
is to legalize and regulate it much like alcohol. Hiring more cops,
flying more helicopters, building more jails and handing out harsh
sentences has not deterred drug activity in the U.S.A. or anywhere
else nor will they do anything here except increase the value of
cannabis, which will, in turn, increase the violence.

Cannabis is a plant the users of which do not deserve to be the
victims of a shooting war declared in the name of some vague morality
or notion of harm. It's time for drug prohibition to end,
specifically cannabis prohibition; the ruthless do not deserve an
easy gravy train of black market money and our society does not need
large drug smuggling networks. Nor do we need armed gangs vying for
control of the drug trade. We certainly do not need a narco-police
state because of these things.

Drugs may be harmful to your health but nobody has made the case that
criminal prohibition makes it any better. It is a leftover of far
less enlightened times based in fear more than reason, tainted with
racism now and in the past. How many people have to die or be caged
before we stop victimizing ourselves further? It is time for the war
on drugs to end.

Colin Walker,

New Westminster