Pubdate: Sat, 05 Mar 2005 Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB) Copyright: 2005 Winnipeg Free Press Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502 Author: Gavin Wiens WAKE-UP CALL FOR NATION Thursday's tragic slaying of four RCMP officers in Alberta was a wake-up call for this nation to take a good long look in the mirror in terms of our national drug policy. The fact that these brave officers were killed on a cannabis grow operation raid made such a tragedy seem completely senseless and so unnecessary. In a nation of 30-million people where a full two-million adults report using cannabis on a regular basis, Canadians need to look closely whether cannabis prohibition is more desirable for society than decriminalization and regulation by the government of the drug would be. The question needs to be asked: Had cannabis been a regulated substance like much more dangerous substances such as alcohol and tobacco currently are, would these officers be alive today? Without cannabis prohibition, there simply wouldn't be the massive black market for the drug that leads to these type of illicit grow operations popping up all across Canada. Gavin Wiens Winnipeg - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin