Pubdate: Wed, 16 Oct 2013
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2013 The Vancouver Sun
Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n499/a07.html
Author: Ernie Gorrie
Cited: Sensible BC: http://www.sensiblebc.ca

PROSECUTION OF MARIJUANA USERS IS IMMORAL

Re: Is prohibition of cannabis worth the cost?, Column, Oct. 8 
Sensible B.C. is undertaking an Elections B.C. authorized initiative 
to effectively end the prosecution of adults for the simple 
possession of up to an ounce of marijuana.

Recommending support for the petition and possible referendum, 
Barbara Yaffe found, "it's all about the money." I believe there are 
more compelling reasons to support Sensible B.C. Millions of dollars 
are spent investigating, arresting, prosecuting and punishing adults 
for simple possession of cannabis while murders remain unsolved and 
other serious threats to Canadians go uninvestigated due to lack of resources.

The Sensible B.C. initiative could free up those resources, not for 
cost savings, but to improve public safety.

More compelling however is the harm done to British Columbians by 
prosecution. Every year thousands of lives are irreparably damaged by 
criminal convictions for simple possession. These charges doubled 
between 2005 and 2010.

Charges and convictions can result in termination of employment, 
create barriers to employment, expose otherwise law abiding citizens 
to an array of criminal influences and prohibit travel among other 
adverse effects.

All of these are damages inflicted on Canadians by their government 
for behaviour that has been legalized in nearby Washington State.

These actions by the Canadian government are an immorality that can 
be corrected by the Sensible B.C. initiative.

Yaffe states that support for Sensible B.C. is a slam-dunk for 
pragmatic economic reasons. For many, it is self-evident as a moral imperative.

Ernie Gorrie Cowichan
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom