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Pubdate: Wed, 17 June 1998 Source: The Vancouver Sun (Canada) Contact: http://www.vancouversun.com/ Author: Dr. Joe McNamara, Police Chief, San Jose (Ret.), Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Calif. DON'T FOLLOW U.S. IN DRUG WAR FIASCO I was pleased to be a speaker June 13, at Vancouver's International Symposium on Crime Prevention & Drug Treatment, organized by Mayor Philip Owen. The conference provided a great deal of information and allowed people with diverse viewpoints to express themselves. My own message was that I hope that Canada, which is so wise to avoid the United States' foolish lack of gun control, will also reject my country's failed drug war policies which have increased drug use, crime, corruption, and violence. I was impressed by the article in your June 13, 1998 issue written by Messieurs Boyd, Conroy, and Puder urging a less punitive and more humane policy toward cannabis. Gil Puder, a Vancouver police officer, deserves special recognition for his courage in publicly stating what many officers feel but fear to articulate. - ---