WE'RE IN A ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH

Re: "It's official: B.C. smokes the most pot," Oct. 5.

As I was flying home on Thursday I thought about how large and
diverse our country is. However, what struck me the most was the
sight of the Rockies. After traveling for four hours I realized it
was a perfect metaphor for the line between B.C. and the rest of
Canada regarding the use of marijuana. Call it the Rocky Mountain high!

The Harper government's "tough on crime" position is something
Canadians should pay attention to. Even though 51 per cent of
Canadians and 58 per cent of British Columbians support
decriminalization our federal government is moving in the other direction.

We don't have enough jails in this country if all of the changes to
the Criminal Code are made.

I believe the tipping point has already been reached with more young
people choosing to use marijuana instead of tobacco. The Health
Officers Council of B.C. discussion paper (fall, 2005) acknowledges
that substance use is a component of our society. As well, the two
most widely used substances, alcohol and tobacco cause more
fatalities than all of the illegal substances combined.

What is amazing to me is that if the value of the cannabis industry
is estimated to be $3 billion to $7 billion a year in B.C. it must be
at least $20 billion dollars a year in Canada.

How can a Conservative government miss an opportunity to tax that
amount of money?

But I suppose all of this is wishful thinking and nothing more than a
pipe dream. No wonder the rest of Canada thinks we live in La La Land.

Fred Mallach,

Victoria.