When Staff Sgt. Brian Hunter spoke to the Chamber of Commerce last month, in my opinion he made some misleading statements about a case soon to be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Hunter is incorrect to say that Owen Smith argued he was licensed by the government. The exact opposite is true.

Owen has never had a licence to possess cannabis and was arrested while working for the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club.

Lawyer Kirk Tousaw focused on the fact that making tea or butter from dry plant material is not legal, even for a patient with a licence.

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In a June 11 Burgoo item, Leonard Pitts criticized former President Ronald Reagan for not solving the "crack" epidemic in the black community. He also criticized Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" program.

Here are a couple of other perspectives.

First, the reason we have a crack epidemic in the black community is that blacks are making, using and selling crack. Pitts should put a little effort into convincing his people that taking crack is a bad thing and encourage them to stop it.

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Canada's Senators are now echoing what the public has known for years: cannabis is not as harmful as the prohibition laws. Recently published research is also bringing cannabis advocates and scientists together to agree this herb is a safe medical and recreational alternative to legal drugs.

These studies add to the growing body of scientific evidence being used in court cases to prove that the prohibition of cannabis is costly, unreasonable, unsuccessful and harmful to human health and civil society. The new science constantly reinforces ideals held by cannabis activists, while providing the entire population with intelligent arguments for sensible drug policies.

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