LEGALIZATION WOULD REDUCE THE NUMBER OF DANGEROUS GROW-OPS

Re: Fire probe leads police to two more grow-ops, The Standard, Jan. 2.

The marijuana grow-op bogeyman strikes again. It's hard to bring
balance to an issue like indoor cannabis farming when there are few
experts.

Our police are creating anew reefer madness by focusing on those who
produce and sell marijuana because everyone, at least three million
Canadians, possess pot at some time or another.

The law against possession remains, but enforcement prioritization has
Toronto and Vancouver police shrug off customers using cannabis at
BYOBud cafes. Yet Niagara residents still have weed worries as police
will spend incredible resources for simple possession, creating an
interesting discrepancy.

With the normalization of small amounts of cannabis possession, the
police have had to hype a new marijuana evil. Grow-op madness comes
complete with grandiose fabrications, making any truths the police may
have lies, too. Ontario police chiefs concluded in their Green Tide
report, "Crop sitters like to live near schools so their children can
attend them."

Then there's former RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli:
"Following the (Mayerthorpe) tragedy it became obvious that the
investigation was not PRIMARILY a grow-op investigation." The caps are his.

It's unconscionable the four brave officers who were massacred in
Mayerthorpe would be used for pot political gain. This is fear
mongering to justify failed policies. It's the only profession I know
where admitting the opposite of intended results receives pay raises
and bigger budgets. Police admit cannabis continues to be a growing
industry despite all the money already spent combating grow-ops.

With so few new Niagara jobs, let's get our grow-ops out of the school
zones and into our bountiful beautiful farmland.

Matt Mernagh,

St. Catharines