Re: Marijuana illegal for now, Dec. 28. Though we all can agree it is difficult enough for parents to raise their children and we don't need mixed signals from the government, what we really don't need is hypocrisy from York Region's police chief. We can also agree we'd rather not have people younger than 18 using recreational drugs of any kind. And although it would be nice if we didn't expose them to caffeine, white sugar, red meat, Ritalin etc. -- the list is far too long -- we all know how counter-productive and archaic it is to just say no to kids, especially when it's a fact most parents have said yes once, if not recently, in their lives. [continues 189 words]
A consistent 9 in 10 Canadians polled over the last two years, by a wide variety of polling firms, object to the current prohibition on cannabis. It's amazing that six out of nine Supreme Court justices are so out of touch with the Canadian public as to rule as they did recently. They were ruling on the constitutionality of smoking pot; whether it is the individual's right to consume this recreational drug. What the ruling says, in layman's terms, is that the government owns your body. That you do not have the right to make educated choices as to what you want to do with your own body. It seems that, according to these appointed judges, the notion of sovereignty does not extend to the individual. [continues 65 words]
Just before the municipal elections, Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino said the recent spike in gang violence was perpetrated by "gun toting thugs" who have "no respect for the justice system". While we can agree to the truth in that simplistic analysis, the more cynical of us will see it as a request for a bigger police budget from the next mayor of that city. We can either continue on with the business as usual approach and ratchet up the enforcement side, going the way of the United States, or we can progress to mature policies. [continues 205 words]
It seems alcohol sets the standard by which all other recreational drugs must be measured in Canada; to do otherwise would be sheer and blatant hypocrisy. When comparing alcohol to cannabis, decades of imperical data has shown there is absolutely no comparison between the two. When measuring toxicity, neurotoxicity, short and longterm effect of the two recreational drugs, alcohol is far and away the more detrimental and toxic substance. The World Health Organization did a study of the neorotoxicity and toxicity of a variety of recreational drugs, finding the most deadly group was cocaine, heroin and alcohol, with cannabis needing its own catagory of "non-toxic". [continues 118 words]
With the gun and gang violence in Canada appearing to escalate, I'd like to put forth a plan to curb it. First, ban all manufacture, sales and possession of handguns. Make the areas within city limits "gun free zones". Launch government-sponsored class action suits against gun manufacturers for intentionally creating a product specifically designed for killing humans and not keeping tighter safety controls on their use. Clamp down on our own border. Enforce our gun laws in the courts. [continues 176 words]
