MARIJUANA: KEEPING IT ILLEGAL IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE

Almost every day we read stories in The Herald about million dollar
marijuana grow operations, or little mom and pop operations, and
about how much we can allow a person to have, or how much the B.C.
crop is going to be worth this year, and I just wonder - why?

Taxing and regulating marijuana, the most popular illicit drug, is a
cost-effective alternative to a never-ending drug war.

As long as marijuana distribution remains in the hands of organized
crime, consumers will continue to come into contact with sellers of
hard drugs. This gateway is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy.

Given that marijuana is arguably safer than legal alcohol - the plant
has never been shown to cause an overdose death - it makes no sense
to waste tax dollars on failed policies that finance organized crime
and facilitate the use of hard drugs.

Darral Good

Lynnwood