Pubdate: Sat, 17 Jan 2004 Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON) Copyright: 2004, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: http://www.canoe.com/NewsStand/TorontoSun/home.html Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457 Author: Ross Reynolds Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/gardner.htm (Losing the War on Drugs) Note: Parenthetical remark by the Sun editor, headline by newshawk MARIJUANA IS NOT GOING AWAY RE YOUR Jan. 15 editorial: Marijuana, like any other marketable product, falls under the law of supply and demand. The recent Barrie bust indicates how huge the demand really is. I doubt all the Barrie pot was destined for the Canadian market. To simply impose tougher penalties for growing or distributing pot does nothing to stem demand. The U.S. government's extremist attitude toward marijuana has netted little gain in the war on pot (witness Ron Mann's documentary, Grass). Marijuana, in one form or another, has been around for hundreds of years. It's not going away. The problem seems to be who supplies it. Legalize it, and take it out of the hands of all those who use its profit for illegal activity and let the rest of us smoke it because we find it pleasurable. Ross Reynolds, Toronto (The biggest block to legalization in Canada is the hardline stance of the U.S.) - --- MAP posted-by: Derek