Pubdate: Thu, 10 May 2012 Source: Daily Courier, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2012 The Okanagan Valley Group of Newspapers Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/5NyOACet Website: http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/531 Author: H. Christian Fibiger Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v12/n259/a10.html REGRETTABLE, IRRESPONSIBLE VIEWS ON POT It is regrettable that in the editorial of April 28, The Daily Courier chose to take a number of cheap shots at the thoughtful and politically courageous B.C. mayors who are calling for the decriminalization, taxation and strict regulation of marijuana. Nowhere in their declaration did the mayors advocate that criminals be permitted to run grow-ops in a decriminalized, regulated system. Nowhere was there any suggestion marijuana would be available in corner stores. And who says that different varieties and strengths of marijuana couldn't be part of a regulated system? We can continue to stick our heads in the sand and adhere to the failed prohibitionist policies of the past 50 years, or we can begin to think about better, less harmful ways to deal with this aspect of the human condition. The managing editor does our community a disservice by not being a leading voice in advocating for a serious discussion about how society might better deal with marijuana. Calling the mayors "naive" and making unwarranted assumptions about what a decriminalized and regulated system might look like are unfortunate and irresponsible. H. Christian Fibiger, Kelowna - --- MAP posted-by: Matt