MONEY TO BE MADE FROM POT BUSTS

When news of a police raid on a "large" and "sophisticated" marijuana
grow operations hits the paper, as is often the case in the Shuswap,
one question people seem to ask regularly is, "what do they do with the stuff?"

Despite the illegality of it all, this question is most often
delivered with a wink-wink-nudge-nudge gesture. The truth, however,
is pretty dry. Typically, marijuana obtained by authorities from such
raids is eventually destroyed - incinerated to be exact. This answer
might rekindle that cheeky thought process. Or it may elicit a more
dour, thoughtful response such as, "Wow, what a waste."

Now, before heading to your computer to start typing that letter to
the editor questioning how we could condone the production and sale
of weed, dig this - the federal government already does and, not
surprisingly, it's a mighty lucrative endeavour.

Health Canada recently signed a contract with Prairie Plant Systems
of Saskatoon worth $17 million to produce medical marijuana.
Currently, the company is scrambling to hire new staff and expand its
secret growing facility in order to handle the contract.

There was, no doubt, a lot of paperwork and handshaking for Prairie
Plant Systems to get that deal with the government, let alone to
become the only federally licensed medical marijuana producer in
Canada. But clearly, or at least one would hope, that if the feds are
willing to pony up millions of taxpayer dollars for the deal, there
is indeed money to be made in the medical marijuana industry.

Meanwhile, millions more taxpayer dollars are going towards police
investigations of marijuana grow operations, the raids and other
related costs. All the while, irritation is growing across the
country among local governments, who have no choice but to pay
taxpayer dollars for escalating RCMP policing costs with no input or
accountability.

Local governments, it seems, have no money to burn, yet authorities
are doing just that.

Why shouldn't we see some financial gain from this war on drugs? Our
foray into the medical marijuana gig shows we can have it both ways.
And the fact we've been profiteering from the sales of cigarettes and
booze for ages helps to lessen the sting of hypocrisy.