Reponse to Margret Wente of the Globe and Mail on marijuana legalization

Pot: Why not legalize it?

While the regulatory schema for alcohol and tobacco is by no means perfect, Margret Wente fails to note that both are more effective at keeping deleterious substances away from children than no regulation at all.

The sad fact of prohibition is that it makes marijuana an easier substance for children to obtain than either tobacco or alcohol.

If parents want to protect children, legalize marijuana, regulate it's sale and restrict any marijuana advertising. This would address the bulk of Mr. Kleimans concerns about expanding use.

The solution Margret Wente and Mark Kleiman advocate leaves organized criminals with control of a 10 billion dollar market and profits in excess of 2 billion (in British Columbia alone), as if this was somehow more palatable than having either government or the private sector in control.

It really comes down to either giving organized criminals billions of dollars to buy guns and kill Canadians, or giving government billions to spend on schools and hospitals.

Marijuana legalization and better health-care or prohibition and people dying in the streets. Is this really a choice?