Re: Salomon Rayek's column "Pot legalization a bad message to send to kids."
Salomon, your arguments are absurd. An authentic harm-reduction program that allows marijuana only for necessary prescription alternatives has had support among physicians.
Back in the 1980s, there was a list of 17 doctors in Edmonton who would prefer to prescribe pot than synthetic drugs for pain management.
The work of Dr. Maté has overwhelmed objections to providing access to substances in a controlled rehab program that gets at the addictive motivations.
When people who think they are defending moral strength claim criminals will gravitate to harder narcotics if marijuana is legalized, their premise has no validity.
If we followed a harm-reduction rehab regime, such as Portugal's, we would provide a health-based route away from crime and self destruction.
To advocate the current policy is to institutionaliz e criminals as the controllers of many addictive substances. The government has to face its destructive basis for its policy.
Alan Blanes,
Kelowna