Pubdate: Thu, 12 Dec 2002 Source: Province, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2002 The Province Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476 Author: Michael Smyth WE SHOULDN'T LET FEDS MESS WITH THE BIGGEST B.C. GROWTH INDUSTRY You won't catch B.C.'s top cop wearing a "smoke-a-fatty-for-Rebagliati" T-shirt or pulling a wake-and-bake with a Cheech and Chong video on the tube. In fact, Solicitor-General Rich Coleman proudly acknowledged yesterday that he's never inhaled as he tore a strip off the federal government's plan to decriminalize simple pot possession. "The marijuana grow operations are tied to organized crime," the former RCMP traffic cop told me. "A kilo of marijuana trades kilo-for-kilo for cocaine across the border. That money is used for methamphetamine labs and illegal guns. It's an insidious business. We have a substantial number of murders that we're investigating in B.C. directly related to the drug trade." Has Coleman ever had a puff of wacky tobacky himself? Even once? "I have never actually smoked marijuana in my life. Maybe it was my upbringing. I've never had any desire to try any illegal drugs of any kind." Coleman's Ward-Cleaverish, just-say-no mentality seems to clash with the province's Amsterdam reputation for open tolerance of marijuana cultivation, consumption and culture. After all, this is a province where no one seemed to be particularly shocked when a marijuana grow-op was found in a house belonging to an attorney-general a few years ago. (That would be Ujjal Dosanjh. He rented a house to a guy who promptly set up a hydroponic operation.) As an Ontario native, I can confirm that British Columbians have a different attitude toward pot. I remember when my college buddy's dad found a joint in his pocket. The old man went wild and phoned the president of the University of Toronto in an attempt to track down his son's "pusher." Then I moved to B.C., and everybody's smoking joints like they're Players Lights. Quite a difference. But don't count Coleman as part of the B.C. bud brigade. "It's an illegal drug. It's 20 to 30 times stronger today than it was in the 1970s. It's fueling all kinds of other activities that are hurting children and families and communities in this province. "I don't think it's any time to take a soft approach toward it. It's a time to take a look at getting tougher." I respect Coleman's passion on the issue. After all, police so rarely prosecute small-time possession charges now that we already have de-facto decriminalization. And when you consider that the B.C. marijuana business is now estimated at $6 billion a year, "employing" 100,000 people, that makes it the biggest industry in the province. There's a good argument that B.C. bud has kept the province's economy upright through the forestry, mining and fishing meltdowns. Why let the feds mess with that? - --- MAP posted-by: Alex