Pubdate: Fri, 02 Dec 2005 Source: Annex Guardian (CN ON) Copyright: 2005 Metroland Printing, Publishing and Distributing Contact: http://www.insidetoronto.ca/to/annex/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2316 Author: Russell Barth IT'S TIME TO LOOK AT OUR DRUG STRATEGY Alcohol prohibition in the last century made heavily armed gangsters very rich and powerful. Kids went to school drunk, gun battles erupted on the streets of the U.S., the police were powerless. Eventually, prohibition was repealed, alcohol was regulated, the illegal profits disappeared, and the gun violence ended. Today, drug prohibition is causing exactly the same kinds of social ills, corruption, and gun violence. All of the major parties have the same answer, which is to "get tough". Just more of the same failed policy rhetoric. The more we "get tough" and "crack down", the more we subsidize organized crime. This isn't an opinion, this is a fact. The competition will become even more fierce, which means more gun violence, and more danger for all Canadians. Why isn't anyone talking sensibly about regulating marijuana? Taking marijuana out of the hands of kids and gangsters, and putting it into the hands of responsible adults is socially conservative. Generating $3 billion in annual tax revenue from that regulated business is fiscally conservative. Using that tax revenue to educate kids so they will make smart choices about drugs is morally conservative. It really is time for a change. Prohibition has never worked for anything, any time, anywhere in the world. If prohibition were ever going to work, it would have worked by now. Russell Barth Federal medical marijuana license holder Former federal Marijuana Party candidate - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake