Pubdate: Mon, 21 Mar 2005
Source: North Shore News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 North Shore News
Contact:  http://www.nsnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/311
Author: Cecil Bund
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

MOVE THE MARIJUANA DEBATE FORWARD

Dear Editor:

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to watch the memorial for the 
fallen RCMP on TV from Edmonton. There were many parts of it that brought a 
tear to my eye.

Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson was the leading speaker and provided a 
statement, which proved to be a summary for me. She said, "True honour is 
not for those who have received but for those who have given." Indeed the 
whole ceremony was an honour to those four men. Prime Minister Paul Martin 
made a statement that brings me to the point of this letter. He said, "We 
owe a debt to those four officers."

Those four men paid the price. We cannot let them die in vain.

This recent incident in Alberta wasn't initially a marijuana deal, but 
there is a definite connection. It certainly has brought the topic up front 
and centre. I like the idea of getting marijuana out of the Criminal Code, 
but please bear with me. We need to take a serious look at everything that 
might be called a "drug." I feel that we need to look at each one on an 
individual basis and start asking: "What effect does it have?" and "What 
damage can it do?" How do each of those other "things" compare with what 
many of us have learned the hard way? We need to save the more beneficial 
ones for those who may want to indulge. We need to come down with a heavy 
hammer on the more harmful substances.

I liked what I read in the March 9 edition of the North Shore News in the 
column by Jerry Paradis, Taking Advantage of a Tragedy. I particularly 
liked his closing paragraph, but now is a time to rise above any pointing 
fingers of blame.

These men died for a greater cause. In his column, he mentioned Anne 
McClellan and how she mentioned taking a look at decriminalization of 
marijuana. That is the ground I'm standing on.

Bear in mind this is not coming from an old hippie. I am past 65 and I have 
not tasted marijuana. I smoked common tobacco for 15 years and in quitting 
I learned what a stranglehold that stuff had on me.

My dad smoked a pipe or cigars for many years, and even though my mother 
never smoked anything, she was the one who died of lung cancer.

I can remember reading an article some 30 years ago, which compared 
marijuana and tobacco.

The detail I remember from that study was that tobacco was more addictive 
and more harmful than marijuana. I rather expect that a modern study would 
come to a similar conclusion. But that's only the tip of the iceberg. Every 
drug out there needs this kind of scrutiny.

On another level I asked a friend, who has tried marijuana, what he thought 
of it. He said he got a bit of a high from it, but his open preference 
would be alcohol, even though the alcohol gave him a worse hangover.

 From a personal perspective, I no longer use either alcohol or tobacco, 
but a question remains: Would I try marijuana for a case of persistent 
pain? These are all details that would have to be studied in order to make 
a positive case for marijuana.

Still on the case for marijuana there is one more major factor to consider. 
The U.S. tobacco farmers would not be happy.

Could marijuana be an alternative crop for those people? Let's take our 
time, do our homework, do our promoting and then take it out of the 
Criminal Code all over North America.

As I see it, the unity of spirit throughout North America is an important 
part of the freedom that we all enjoy. I feel that we need to pass the 
required legislation on marijuana here in Canada by way of demonstrating 
the broad Canadian view.

We need to pass it on the condition that we leave it on the shelf until the 
rest of this part of the world come on stream with us.

I have heard it said, "Prohibition didn't work for alcohol and it's not 
working for marijuana."

The awesome tribute to those four men, I rather expect, must surely have 
stirred a pride in our whole country and not just our great police force.

Cecil Bund

North Vancouver 
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