Editor:
Re: Federal politicians must look at big picture on new laws, Community Comment, Feb. 3
Ian Robertson's column is right on target.
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 then farming tomatoes. As it stands, the drug war distorts market forces such that big money grows on little trees.
Canadian policymakers should ignore the reefer madness hysteria of the U.S. and instead to look 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 Policy Analyst Common Sense for Drug Policy
