Pubdate: Thu, 02 Dec 2010 Source: Barrie Examiner (CN ON) Copyright: 2010 Robert Sharpe Contact: http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/feedback1/LetterToEditor.aspx Website: http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2317 Author: Robert Sharpe Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n985/a05.html LEGALIZING POT MAKES REAL SENSE (Re: 'No warrants needed for power bills' in the Nov. 29 edition of the Examiner) Regarding Alan Shanoff's column, hazardous marijuana grow operations are a direct result of marijuana prohibition. Legitimate farmers do not steal electricity to grow produce in the basements of rented homes. If legal, growing marijuana would be less profitable than farming tomatoes. As it stands, the drug war distorts market forces so that big money grows on little trees. Canadian policymakers should ignore the reefer madness hysteria of the United States government and instead look to their own Senate for guidance. In the words of Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, "Scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicates that cannabis is substantially less harmful than alcohol and should be treated not as a criminal issue but as a social and public health issue." Robert Sharpe Washington, DC - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D