NATIONAL POST LOOKS FOR POT IN THE VALLEY

The Slocan Valley is making national news, this time for its alternative
economy. National Post editor-at-large Diane Francis was in the area last
week to research the "marijuana subculture" in the valley. She interviewed
MP Jim Gouk and New Denver mayor Gary Wright, who told her he feels the
subculture "is as vital a part of our community as anyone else that lives here.

"Fortunately, or unfortunately, many of them go to jail."

Someone convicted of stalking or assault can receive a punishment as little
as a $1 peace bond, but the penalty for pot growing can be 25 hundred times
that, Wright said.

"I guess the message is it's cheaper to stalk or beat on someone than to
smoke vegetables."

Marijuana should be legalized with the same kind of controls as alcohol he
said, noting that "approximately 40 per cent of the prison population has
to do with drugs and a majority of that has to do with marijuana."

Gouk, an Alliance MP, is in favour of using marijuana for medical purposes.
He surveyed people and found about 50% were in favour, the rest were split
between 'no' and wanting more info.

Asked about decriminalizing marijuana use, Gouk said people tend to react
to rumours and sometimes inaccurate info.

"Whatever they [constituents] choose I will act accordingly. I think it's
time we had public discussion on this subject, providing full info to the
public and then asking them to make an informed choice. And I will vote on
any bill according to my constituents, after following that process."

There are pros and cons to both sides of the issue, Gouk added. Some
people feel legalization would stop bigger syndicates. There would be tax
revenue for drug awareness and treatment. Another argument is that unlike
alcohol, marijuana doesn't stimulate aggressiveness.

Gouk is concerned that police can use a breathalyzer to catch drinking
drivers but would need some kind of testing for marijuana.

He said Francis told him any referendum on marijuana use should be side by
side with alcohol.

"She believes it's no more dangerous than alcohol."

* The June 9 Vancouver Sun carried an article on how growers could cash in
on their expertise if medical marijuana is legalized.

The story was on the Kootenays as a whole, not on the Slocan Valley. It
calls Blair Suffredine, the newly-elected Liberal MLA a "tough-on-drugs
prosecutor" but notes he tried to orchestrate a bid for the federal
contract to grow medical marijuana. He is quoted as saying cocaine and its
derivatives are used for medicine, so why should pot be excluded.

The Sun also says law enforcement agencies estimate the provincial pot
market is $8 billion, quadruple BC's total agricultural production.