Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 Source: Martlet (CN BC Edu) Copyright: 2006 Martlet Publishing Society Contact: http://www.martlet.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3140 Author: Tim Lindsay Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) GROWING FOR THE NEIGHBOURHOOD Would Legalizing Marijuana Be Good For The Authorities? A retired B.C. teacher recently told me a funny story about a grade eight class she had taught. The class was debating the legalization of marijuana. First, the young legalization advocates laid out various arguments against prohibition, including many of the usual claims. Prohibition doesn't deter people from smoking or growing pot--it funds the much more deplorable activities of criminal gangs who corrupt public officials and import guns and harder drugs. It also wastes taxpayers' money on ineffective enforcement while forgoing billions of dollars in potential tax revenue. Then the students who opposed legalizing marijuana laid out their case: Legalization of marijuana is simply a wrong-headed idea. Why? Because inevitably it would drive pot prices downward, the government would put outrageous taxes on the stuff, and growers and the local economy generally would suffer as a result. "You could tell which kids were from growing families," the former teacher told me with an uncertain smile. This little anecdote symbolizes to me that the marijuana industry has passed the point of no return. The evidence, it seems, is becoming quite clear--somebody stands to make loads of money from drugs like marijuana. The only real question is who? The answer to this question may have big implications, not just for growers trying to support their families and the local economy, but also for international security and the scope of organized crime. So, how big is the B.C. pot industry? Many of us, perhaps without realizing it, know people who have worked in the "bud mines" of B.C. The Fraser Institute estimates there are 17,500 grow-ops in the province, part of a multi-billion dollar provincial industry they estimate could translate into $2 billion of annual tax revenue. An industry of this size implies tens of thousands of illicit jobs--but that's not to say these jobs are unappreciated. I asked one person what he thought of groups like the Hells Angels and his response was a little alarming. "They make good neighbours," he said. Basically, he appreciated the role of groups like the Hells Angels in providing law and order in the marijuana trade. It's ironic, of course, but maybe it makes a bit of sense from a certain viewpoint. With billions of dollars worth of illicit commercial transactions taking place, perhaps it is inevitable that gangs will aspire to keep things running smoothly within whatever turf they can claim. Not many will trust the RCMP to adequately provide the law and order for them. But who knows? Maybe in the end, the RCMP will indeed be busting teenagers for stealing their neighbours' pot plants. Maybe this will prove to be the only way for governments to maintain their own turf and shrink the money flowing to organized crime. About 50,000 Canadians are arrested each year for marijuana-related offences and hundreds of thousands of Canadians already have criminal records for simple possession of marijuana. The irony is that when drug users reach prison they find that drugs are almost as accessible in jail as they are in the rest of society. If tough enforcement can't even stop the supply of drugs in a prison environment, is there any sense having drug enforcement in the rest of society? Really, let's get our police officers doing more important work so they can get the respect they deserve. Indeed, while groups like the Hells Angels may be gaining legitimacy among a few growers, governments, police and other authorities are losing respect on a much larger scale in the eyes of youth and all those who use marijuana or other illicit drugs. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom