To the editor:
I wasn’t in the least bit surprised to read that Kelowna’s mayor (Walter Gray) chose not to sign a letter in support of decriminalization of marijuana. (See Alistair Waters’ column below.) After all, Kelowna is a right-leaning community, and he believes he needs to pander to his base.
However, the mayors of towns like Lake Country and Vernon signed the letter, and their inhabitants aren’t more liberal in their views than we are.
It just appears these mayors are willing to take a progressive position on it.
They’re joining attorneys-general, senators and other intelligent people in speaking out in favour of decriminalization.
Spending billions of dollars enforcing a prohibition that doesn’t work is wasteful beyond words.
When compared to tobacco or alcohol, neither of which has ever been prescribed as medicine, it seems a fairly benign substance.
If pot is decriminalized, people like my son’s friend’s mom with cancer, could grow her own to alleviate her symptoms.
Instead, her son has to go to the Hell’s Angels for pot! How this makes any sense, I don’t know.
Moni Schiller,
Kelowna
