Pubdate: Fri, 15 Feb 2002 Source: Langley Advance (CN BC) Copyright: 2002 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc. Contact: http://www.langleyadvance.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1248 Author: Alan Randell Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n172/a08.html?1576 DRUGS: POT SMOKERS' LIVES RUINED Dear Editor, Aided in no small measure by uncritical news stories such as yours [Pot busted, Feb. 1, Langley Advance News], our government continues to oversee a brutal pogrom designed to distract our attention from more important issues by ruining the lives of the innocent few who ingest or sell certain drugs. Please, don't insult my intelligence by insisting the drug war is there to protect users from harmful drugs. Banning a drug harms users (adulterated drugs and jail time) and non-users (murder and mayhem on our streets) much more than if the drug were freely and legally available. And if that were the reason, why didn't we ban alcohol and tobacco, too? Alan Randell, Victoria - --- MAP posted-by: Alex