Robert Sharpe, Calgary Sun
Canadian marijuana activist Marc Emery is now officially a political prisoner. ( "Tinfoil hat delusion," Ian Robinson, May 16 ) If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. At a time when state and local governments are laying off police, firefighters and teachers, the U.S. is prepared to spend a small fortune incarcerating Emery for five years. The Canadian government should be ashamed of its role in this travesty. There is no justification for criminalizing citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis. Marijuana prohibition has failed. The U.S. has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is legal. Canada should just say no to the American Inquisition.
Robert Sharpe
Common Sense for Drug
Policy, Washington, D.C.