DEA on the defensive over Emery

Sorry folks, I know I've been absent but I seem to have come down something, maybe an allergy, my eyeballs are itching and my nose is running so I'm just going to post this irritating LTE from Karen Tandy and call it a night.

Marc Emery, who distributed millions of marijuana seeds throughout the country, admits the accuracy of the Drug Enforcement Administration's charges against him, but he denies harming Americans ["High Crimes, or a Tokin' Figure?" Style, March 18].

Like all dealers, Mr. Emery turns a blind eye to marijuana's victims -- people like Victoria Rogers, a mother driving with her children when she was killed by a marijuana-intoxicated motorist.

Marijuana feeds thousands of addictions -- so many that more teenagers enter treatment for marijuana dependency than for all other drugs combined. Thousands of adolescents whose brains are still developing also suffer from depression, memory impairment and diminished judgment because of marijuana. Users destroy their lungs because marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more cancer-causing chemicals than tobacco smoke.

That Mr. Emery sees no consequences of his actions does not change the fact that they destroy innocent American lives and that he should and will face legal consequences as a result.

Amazing really how she could pack so many lies in such a short letter. By rights, the WaPo should post her press release at the time of his "capture," gloating over how they destroyed the US drug reform movement.