Editor: Re: Crime Beat, Dec. 20 I read in the Crime Beat that a person was reported to police for allegedly smoking cannabis on Central Avenue in Ladner. My first thought was: Are you kidding me? My second thought was: Don't the police have something better to do than investigate a person smoking cannabis? I have nothing against what the police do. They are trying to keep us safe, but getting involved in what somebody does to temporarily alter their state of mind is ridiculous.

If they aren't causing trouble or harming anyone else, why bother investigating? People drink alcohol and smoke and chew tobacco, which studies show are the most addictive and dangerous substances known to man, yet are legal.

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This drug war is a complete failure. And that's not just my opinion as millions of others hold that same opinion. We are wasting billions of tax dollars trying to "fix" the problem by arresting and incarcerating drug users.

We can use this money for better uses like rehabilitation, education, creating jobs, medical care, homes for the homeless, fixing our infrastructure and a lot of other things besides wasting time and money cracking down on a couple of teenagers spending time outside smoking a bit of B.C. bud.

Would you rather have them drinking themselves drunk? How about getting addicted to cigarettes? Or how about spending $10 for a gram of weed where they just get giggly and hungry for a few hours with no hangover effects or addiction? If you smoke cigarettes or drink, you are in no position to tell us what we can and cannot put into our bodies.

Connor Ganuelas