Pubdate: Sat, 25 Apr 2009 Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU) Copyright: 2009 Canwest Publishing Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274 AND ANOTHER THING ... Concise Comments On Some Current Topics Unclear on the concept Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson is correct: Marijuana is valuable enough to be used as a kind of currency, traded across borders for harder drugs. But what makes a weed you could grow in your garden so valuable? Largely the simple fact that it's illegal. So Nicholson's newly-proposed solution to this problem, making marijuana more illegal (so to speak) by increasing sentences for selling and growing the stuff, is just absurd. Learning from the masters Speaking of product value: Police say the Hells Angels hoarded marijuana, creating an artificial shortage to raise prices. We're guessing they learned this trick from farm-product marketing boards, which limit supply of basic healthy foods for exactly the same purpose. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom