Living with a severely debilitating disease is bad enough. The RCMP and the federal government should have some sympathy and leave this patient alone. Maybe he does get a "high" from the pot, but so do the millions of patients who use prescription medications every day. If this is a battle in the war-on-drugs then the ongoing persecution of Krieger appears to be a war crime. Watching the wheelchair-bound Krieger drag himself through the courts, I find myself asking a question: Is this how human beings are supposed to treat each other? Norm Siefken [end]
Even the Canadian government has given the green light to marijuana's use for the ill. Clinical trials are about to begin and at least two people have been given legal medical exemptions! All Canadians should be disgusted with this war on this healing herb and especially law enforcements' overzealous use of force to hinder its distribution to the needy. I too am facing charges for trying to heal myself with this alternative medicine. I grew my own after I realized I didn't want to purchase pot from dealers who had no concern for my welfare and were part of the 800-tonne, multi-billion dollar, untaxed, pot black market now operating in Canada. I also fathered "The Hemp Canadian" web site to educate and inform! [continues 58 words]
Dave Michon Wisconsin (You can cancel your ticket Dave. It's just marijuana.) [end]
"For the record, I'd like to point out there are accepted beneficial uses for thalidomide ( leprosy, I believe). That it can result in birth defects simply rules out its use in cases where a pregnancy might be compromised. Should ignorant governments prevent legitimate use just because of potential misuse? Danny Terwey (Canada doesn't have a leprosy problem, Danny.) [end]
But when the spluttering subsides, the fact will remain: As long as we have streets, we will have street walkers -- unless we decide to recognize and regulate them. Our efforts to prohibit booze failed, just as the war on (some) drugs has failed. Why? Because the laws of supply and demand operate as inflexibly and inexorably as the law of gravity. When will we learn to accommodate this fact in our political life? Pat Dolan [end]
Stated another way, the joke goes something like this: Question -- how many drug warriors does it take to change a lightbulb? Answer -- nobody's quite sure, but they are going to need a lot more money and complete allegiance from the public to do the job right. Stephen Young (The current war on drugs is not working.) [end]
What I am sure of is that I'd be happy to publicly debate him on the illicit drug issue anytime -- an offer I've made to many drug squad types and which I've yet to have accepted. As far as being "out to lunch" goes, I'll be doing that shortly and will enjoy my favorite wine, a nice B.C. pinot noir. Taxpayers should be wary of the drug warrior's favorite whine, however, as stated by Cullen himself -- give us more money! Gil Puder (Well, Staff Sgt. Cullen?) [end]
They'll all tell you their first taste of drugs was pot." This isn't true. They'll tell you that alcohol or nicotine was their first drug. Actually, the gateway theory is true -- but only because drugs are illegal. Pot smokers are exposed to harder drugs by the pushers who are out to make a buck. It is these unscrupulous people, who say anything to sell their wares, who are the gateway: "Sorry, all out of pot today, wanna try some crack? Naw, you won't get hooked!" Make pot available, as they do in Holland, and the exposure to the sellers of hard drugs is minimized: Bye-bye gateway. Glenn Lingle (Hello, stonies) [end]
Aaron Lagadyn (Pass it on.) [end]
Redford Givens (In other words, high people made computers.) [end]
Marijuana prohibition is right, you say, because our grandfathers said so and got a law passed based on the most absurd propaganda ever heard. Evidently you feel we should continue to jail people because of fraudulent laws without a shred of scientific support for their supposed purpose. Redford Givens (Studies prove marijuana use leads to other narcotics.) [end]
The only thing I can point to as an absolute consequence of what some claim to be over $1 trillion wasted on the drug war is that any child with a $10 bill can buy any drug of choice anywhere in either country. It seems to me we could have found a better way to spend our hard-earned dollars. Improved drug education? Computers in the schools? Better health care? All seem like wiser choices than throwing the money away on a totally ineffective drug interdiction program. Mark Greer Porterville, Calif. (The pot runneth over.) [end]
There certainly must be one or two important reasons you would have had the space to list. After all, isn't it important to inform your readers of these reasons? I have always been genuinely curious as to why marijuana is illegal. I've never heard or read any reasons which are not blatantly spurious, circular or intellectually dishonest or which are not contradicted by logic or my own experience. Any cursory research into the origins of laws against marijuana reveal only the racist and puritanical hysteria of a bygone era. Larry Stevens (Dope is for dopes, Larry.) [end]
Bruce Sinclair (A pot of gold.) [end]
Since you seem to appeal to the nanny-state mentality and the law-and-order hoi-polloi, I expect your paper will champion the judge's ruling with the utmost urgency. When, then, can we expect your publication to initiate a campaign to lobby the appropriate authorities to ensure the two most lethal drugs, alcohol and nicotine, are distributed under only the auspices of a physician or pharmacist? Carey Ker (Never.) [end]
If we go to someone like Krieger for help, he is charged with trafficking, while the ones who are profiting are getting away with it because they have the funds and experience to do so. Our government has the power to help, but refuses to do so. We are second-class citizens. We do not have the right to live a quality life because our medicine is being forced away from us. We must choose to live in pain and continue to suffer or to live as a criminal. I ask what would you choose? Lynn Harichy (Good question.) [end]
Strangely enough, the U.S. police take the same attitude as the RCMP. They seem to believe bigger and bigger busts indicate they are winning the war on drugs. The one thing they fail to mention is it never seems to have any real effect on the marijuana market. Clifford A. Schaffer, Canyon Country, Calif. (Twenty tons? No effect? Come on.) [end]
Mark Chenier (We feel great compassion for sick people; we just don't think pot should be legalized outright.) [end]
In any event, you've missed the larger point. How are bedridden or disabled patients supposed to aquire a supply of medicinal marijuana without risking prosecution for more serious crimes like cultivation and trafficking? Kelly T. Conlon (Marijuana should be legalized for medicinal use.) [end]
Kirk Nechamkin (Too many reasons to list here.) [end]