Letters to the Editor

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Letter of the Day

Time to lift pot ban

Posted: 01/14/2013 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Enlarge Image

Marijuana plant grown indoors in Colorado. (TRIBUNE MEDIA MCT)

Send a Letter to the Editor

The Free Press welcomes letters from readers

To send a letter for consideration on our Letters page: Fill out our online form at the link above, or Email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or Fax (204) 697-7412, or Mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Re: Pot laws hurting society (Editorials, Jan. 7). I can't believe the government is hell bent on ignoring the cash cow marijuana could provide. Did Stephen Harper get beat up by potheads too often in high school?

I found the tougher growing laws absolutely ridiculous. Guess who is going to continue to grow despite the new legislation? Gangs, that's who. Let them reap the profits and become stronger.

I think the government should produce it, sell it and, of course, tax it. Make it a Crown corporation. That may seem crazy, but with the rising costs of everything it seems, it is not completely impractical.

STEPHEN GOLPHY

Winnipeg

ñü

Kudos on your editorial. Now that Washington State and Colorado have legalized marijuana, Ottawa can no longer claim Canada must uphold marijuana prohibition in order to maintain good U.S. relations.

In 2002, the Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs concluded that marijuana is relatively benign, prohibition contributes to organized crime, and law enforcement efforts have little impact on patterns of use.

Consider the experience of the former land of the free and current world leader in per capita incarceration. The U.S. has double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available.

The only winners in the war on marijuana are drug cartels and shameless tough-on-drugs politicians who deliberately confuse the drug war's tremendous collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant.

ROBERT SHARPE

Common Sense for Drug Policy

Washington

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 14, 2013 A11

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Letters to the Editor

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.