Pubdate: Sun, 11 Nov 2001 Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB) Copyright: 2001, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: http://www.fyiedmonton.com/htdocs/edmsun.shtml Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135 Author: Neil MacNaughton Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1863/a11.html Note: Parenthetical remark by the Sun editor; headline by newshawk END MARIJUANA PROHIBITION RE: "CHASING potheads called waste of time," Nov. 5. Alliance MP Keith Martin misses the point. Decriminalizing small-scale marijuana possession will do little to free police resources and will actually help criminal organizations, including terrorists, by increasing their revenues. Already, police spend little time focusing on minor possession. Charges most often occur as a result of arrest for other reasons (i.e. a person is pulled over for speeding and, subsequently, marijuana is found in the vehicle.) Since police rarely lay marijuana possession charges in isolation, decriminalization will do little to save money. Meanwhile, dropping the criminal deterrent will open up the marijuana market, increasing revenues for the underground networks that supply it. We know that Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida organization is financed in part by drug money. Why would we want to increase a black market that funds terrorism? The only way to tackle this problem is to end marijuana prohibition. Cheap pot available from licensed vendors or grown at home would break up the marijuana black market overnight. Why? Large-scale criminal and terrorist organizations are involved in the drug trade because it's profitable - a direct result of prohibition. A regulated legalization of marijuana would create an enormous relief for police and the courts and increase government tax coffers. For a drug that the Canadian Medical Association considers relatively benign, where is the downside to legalization? Neil MacNaughton (If any change in the law comes on this issue, decriminalization will be tried long before legalization.) - --- MAP posted-by: Rebel