Pubdate: Sat, 28 Apr 2012
Source: Daily Courier, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2012 The Okanagan Valley Group of Newspapers
Contact: 
http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/includes/email_forms/letters_to_editor.php
Website: http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/531
Author: Jon Manchester

GANGS WON'T GO EASILY

Eight B.C. mayors (including four from the Okanagan) are calling for 
the legalization and taxation of marijuana to end gang violence 
associated with the drug trade.

That's a noble idea. But it's also a naive one. Since we're talking 
about gangs, we urge you to think like a gangster for a minute.

Suppose you run a conservatively sized grow-op of about 100 pot 
plants, each capable of producing a pound of B.C. bud every few 
months. At $1,000 a pound, that's a haul of $300,000 a year, assuming 
a crop harvest every four months.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that massive profits 
can be made from industrial-sized grow-ops, which are becoming all 
too common in the Okanagan.

So, if you are gangster and have a multimillion-dollar operation 
going, based on a network of growers, are you suddenly going to go 
legit if the government signs a piece of paper making pot legal? 
Would you give up half your income to the taxman or would you 
continue operating underground? Remember, these are criminals we're 
talking about, who would kill to control the drug trade on their 
turf, so do you think they'd be concerned about breaking the rules?

The mayors' push seems aimed at heavily taxing pot to finance an 
education campaign much like anti-smoking campaigns against cigarettes.

At 10 bucks a pack for tobacco, can you imagine how expensive 
government-regulated pot would become?

That's one more reason illicit pot growers would continue to flourish 
outside the system, just as contraband tobacco smugglers have in 
Central Canada.

Finally, if it's regulated, that means government-approved weed would 
have to be standardized. And that means you wouldn't be getting your 
usual high-octane dope, but rather some form of watered-down, 
Health-Canada-approved weed.

About the only folks who would go to the corner store to buy it would 
be soccer moms too afraid to deal with those "scary" street dealers.
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