Pubdate: Thu, 15 Oct 2009
Source: Nelson Daily News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2009 Nelson Daily News
Contact: http://www.nelsondailynews.com/section/nelson0303&template=letter
Website: http://www.nelsondailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/288
Author: Herb Couch
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n922/a01.html
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n929/a12.html

RCMP OUTDOOR POT BUSTS WASTE MONEY

To the Editor,

Re: Police outdoor pot busts yield high numbers, NDN October 9, 2009

So what if  "a busy summer of busting outdoor marijuana grow
operations in the West Kootenay has yielded the RCMP a total of 14,130
marijuana plants."

What difference will it make?

Last year's RCMP pot harvest didn't stop this year's crop and this
year's RCMP harvest won't stop next year's crop.

The recent "outdoor pot busts" by the RCMP are glaring examples of the
futility of prohibition.

Law enforcement efforts are not "stemming the tide" or "taking a bite
out" of the pot industry, nor will they ever do so. It is all just an
expensive show at taxpayer expense to give the public the illusion
that something is being accomplished.

Why aren't journalists asking important questions,
like:

1) Is there any evidence that these RCMP eradication efforts "have
made an impact on the marijuana trade in the region?"  Where is the
proof?

After all, these RCMP eradication efforts have been happening for
decades and the outdoor gardens haven't gone away.

2) What percentage of the outdoor crops are the RCMP able to
destroy?

3) How much do these annual pot eradication efforts cost? (diverted
police resources, overtime pay, helicopter use and fuel, court and
prison costs etc.)

Taxpayers have a right to know the answers to these
questions.

Why are we wasting our money on RCMP "outdoor pot busts", when the
money could be much better spent on a CT scanner and adequate health
and education services in our community?

Unfortunately, these futile and expensive "outdoor pot bust" rituals
will continue, year after year, until we finally come to our senses
and end cannabis prohibition.

Every major study on the cannabis issue has come to the same key conclusion
as the 2002 Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs:

"The continued prohibition of cannabis jeopardizes the health and well-being
of Canadians much more than does the substance itself." (Cannabis: Our
Position for a Canadian Public Policy, 2002 - www.SenateReport.ca )

The West Kootenay RCMP need to learn that pot prohibition only
supports organized crime.

Every day that we delay the end of this corrupting, harmful policy,
the deeper the tentacles of organized crime will infiltrate into our
communities!

Ending cannabis prohibition is definitely in our best
interests.

Herb Couch

Nelson, B.C.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D