Pubdate: Fri, 01 May 2015
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Steve Finley
Page: B7
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v15/n232/a05.html

LEGALIZING POT A HOT TOPIC AMONG READERS

Re: Ottawa blasts city pot shop plan; Health Minister Rona Ambrose 
sends letter to mayor, warning dispensaries are illegal, April 24

Health Minister Rona Ambrose is entitled to express her political 
position about Vancouver's efforts to regulate medical cannabis. What 
she is not entitled to do is lie.

Her letter claims that "normalizing the use and sale of marijuana can 
have only one effect: increasing marijuana use and addiction."

This is blatantly false. In fact, countries which provide some form 
of regulated access to cannabis, such as the Netherlands, have lower 
usage rates than aggressively prohibitionist countries such as the U.S.

Similarly, Ambrose's own statistics show that as regulated medical 
cannabis has become more available, even under the crude and 
inadequate regime set up by Health Canada, overall cannabis use in 
Canada has declined.

Ambrose's letter displays a level of dishonesty and irresponsibility 
that is unacceptable from any elected official, and especially from a 
cabinet minister.

We at LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) recognize that the 
primary effect of legalization and regulation of cannabis will be to 
take an enormous source of profit away from criminal gangs, thus 
increasing public safety.

Steve Finley

Secretary-Treasurer, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (Canada), Burnaby
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