TIRESOME DEBATE

This week's Holy Smoke trial is a waste of time and money, but who is
to blame?

The Holy Smoke crew are back in the courts this week. They couldn't be
happier. They will once again climb up on that pedestal and shout to
anyone interested in hearing these two words - legalize it!

Over the next few days they will take up valuable court time and cost
the taxpayers of this province thousands of dollars. They will incur
hefty legal bills themselves. It's hard to say what will happen in
the end. It's unlikely any of the four men accused of trafficking
marijuana will be locked up for any substantial period of time, if at
all. If they do serve time, they will become martyrs for the pro-pot
supporters. A t-shirt they will proudly wear.

It's a waste of valuable time, money and resources.

The Nelson City Police who made the arrests in this case did their
job. This has nothing to do with them enforcing the laws of the land
and executing what they feel must be done. They did what they should
have done and we should be thankful.

The flaw in all of this is that we are still going after what are
essentially small-time sellers of a product that really shouldn't be
illegal in the first place.

Instead of enforcing laws against marijuana, police should be putting
their energy into more serious problems. The courts should be hearing
from the truly bad people in society.

People are going to smoke pot regardless of the laws. The government
will not stop it by arresting people like the owners of Holy Smoke.
They should instead deal with it as they do with alcohol - another
substance that was once thought to be the downfall of society. By
regulating and controlling it, you can then pinpoint some of the
inevitable consequences and pour more resources into areas where it is
truly needed.

This week outdated laws have given the pro-legalization fight a
platform. Will anybody listen?