T
The420Guy
Guest
Prohibition is a farce. That much is undisputed, as is evident by the
ill-fated effort earlier this century to outlaw alcohol, a misguided
attempt at social engineering that is now looked upon universally as an
absolute failure.
For some reason, however, government and justice officials in North America
have failed to see how equally ludicrous it is to continue to pump millions
and millions of dollars into keeping marijuana illegal - while at the same
time lining the pockets of criminals who are benefiting from the very black
market that exists precisely because government deems pot a banned
substance.
Despite Canada's insistence on following the U.S. lead and mimicking the
failed "War on Drugs" approach - and, yes, our police forces have taken
that approach, which is why the Abbotsford Police spends more than $500,000
per year on
busting grow ops alone - we may finally be seeing some common sense prevail
in Ottawa. Joe Clark, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of
Canada, has gone on record as saying that marijuana should be
decriminalized. Clark's
rationale is that he doesn't think it is fair for a young person to carry a
criminal record for life for something as relatively minor as possessing
pot.
Decriminalization would make possession of marijuana a civil offence, akin
to a traffic violation, rather than a criminal offence, subject to a
criminal record and fine/jail time upon conviction.
While we would urge the federal government to legalize the weed, we applaud
Clark for taking an all-important first step by calling publicly for
much-needed and long overdue changes to the archaic way in which we view as
benign a plant as marijuana.
Clark's comments come in the wake of a decision last week by the federal
government to establish an all-party committee to look into the use of
non-medical drugs, such as pot. The committee will have a report completed
by November of 2002, at which time we are confident - providing it looks at
all aspects of marijuana use and recognizes Reefer Madness-type rhetoric -
it will side with the majority of Canadians who feel that marijuana should
not be a banned substance. Tax revenue, much less of a black market for
criminals and an opportunity to take a half-million dollars in Abbotsford
and have our cops spend it on something useful - not to mention allowing
adults to indulge in a stimulant no different than alcohol. Now, how can
that not make sense?
Newshawk: Herb
Pubdate: July 19, 2001
Source: Aldergrove Star (CN BC)
3089 272 St., Aldergrove, B.C., V4W 3R9
Fax: 604-856-5212
Copyright: 2001, Central Fraser Valley Star Publishing Ltd.
Contact: editor@aldstar.com
Website: 万博官方网站链接-万博manbetx官网登录-万博体育投注安全吗
From the Abbotsford News
Section: Opinion
ill-fated effort earlier this century to outlaw alcohol, a misguided
attempt at social engineering that is now looked upon universally as an
absolute failure.
For some reason, however, government and justice officials in North America
have failed to see how equally ludicrous it is to continue to pump millions
and millions of dollars into keeping marijuana illegal - while at the same
time lining the pockets of criminals who are benefiting from the very black
market that exists precisely because government deems pot a banned
substance.
Despite Canada's insistence on following the U.S. lead and mimicking the
failed "War on Drugs" approach - and, yes, our police forces have taken
that approach, which is why the Abbotsford Police spends more than $500,000
per year on
busting grow ops alone - we may finally be seeing some common sense prevail
in Ottawa. Joe Clark, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of
Canada, has gone on record as saying that marijuana should be
decriminalized. Clark's
rationale is that he doesn't think it is fair for a young person to carry a
criminal record for life for something as relatively minor as possessing
pot.
Decriminalization would make possession of marijuana a civil offence, akin
to a traffic violation, rather than a criminal offence, subject to a
criminal record and fine/jail time upon conviction.
While we would urge the federal government to legalize the weed, we applaud
Clark for taking an all-important first step by calling publicly for
much-needed and long overdue changes to the archaic way in which we view as
benign a plant as marijuana.
Clark's comments come in the wake of a decision last week by the federal
government to establish an all-party committee to look into the use of
non-medical drugs, such as pot. The committee will have a report completed
by November of 2002, at which time we are confident - providing it looks at
all aspects of marijuana use and recognizes Reefer Madness-type rhetoric -
it will side with the majority of Canadians who feel that marijuana should
not be a banned substance. Tax revenue, much less of a black market for
criminals and an opportunity to take a half-million dollars in Abbotsford
and have our cops spend it on something useful - not to mention allowing
adults to indulge in a stimulant no different than alcohol. Now, how can
that not make sense?
Newshawk: Herb
Pubdate: July 19, 2001
Source: Aldergrove Star (CN BC)
3089 272 St., Aldergrove, B.C., V4W 3R9
Fax: 604-856-5212
Copyright: 2001, Central Fraser Valley Star Publishing Ltd.
Contact: editor@aldstar.com
Website: 万博官方网站链接-万博manbetx官网登录-万博体育投注安全吗
From the Abbotsford News
Section: Opinion
