Pubdate: Wed, 16 Sep 2009 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2009 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Jodie Emery FEDERAL DRUG POLICY MORE HARMFUL THAN CANNABIS Massive marijuana-growing operations like the one busted recently in Chilliwack would cease to exist if the plants could be grown legally outdoors. Because of prohibition, growers are hiding marijuana indoors, booby traps are set to prevent theft and police hours and paycheques are inflated at a cost to taxpayers. The federal government's continued prohibition of cannabis causes more harm than does the substance itself. That was the conclusion after intense and thorough study of the topic by the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs in 2002. It's abundantly clear that our ineffective drug laws waste money and destroy lives. Even worse, gangsters are making enormous amounts of money thanks to prohibition, a policy that inflates the price and the demand for marijuana. Prohibition didn't work for alcohol, and it isn't working for drugs. Jodie Emery Editor, Cannabis Culture Magazine and B.C. Green party policing critic, Vancouver - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom