MARIJUANA ANYTHING BUT A SAFE DRUG -- COP

Should the laws that keep marijuana illegal go up in
smoke?

Even a cursory scroll through the Internet will load you down with
volumes of opinions, particularly from those who view marijuana as a
harmless substance, a sort of '60s joke you don't have to take too
seriously, so let's just make it legal.

The simple fact is marijuana isn't harmless. There's overwhelming
agreement among medical and scientific experts that the strength and
addictive powers of today's "B.C. bud" are more powerful than the
1960's version.

The number of young people receiving treatment for marijuana addiction
grows yearly. In face of all the casual attitudes towards marijuana,
it's important to let our youth know that marijuana will negatively
impact their lives.

Motor vehicle accidents are the No. 1 killer of young people, even
when sober. Add in marijuana use, alcohol or other drugs and the
combination is deadly.

The pro-legalization movement tries to convince us that marijuana is a
harmless social activity and that people should be able to smoke it
without fear of the law. Meanwhile, doctors and scientists say smoking
it may cause serious health problems. If it's starting to sound like
the debate around tobacco, well, there are similarities.

The manner in which marijuana is produced today (residential grow ops)
poses unique hazards; the majority of these grow operations are now
controlled by organized criminal gangs motivated to make a fast dollar
regardless of risk to themselves or neighbors.

Some of the costs to the public associated with marijuana grow
operations include fighting fires (due to electrical wiring and
heating equipment), thefts of power (electrical by-passes) and an
increase in household insurance premiums to cover the high costs of
restoring rental properties after they've been trashed by an operation.

Individuals who actively promote legalization say these problems would
disappear if marijuana was legalized. That legalization and/or
regulating it somehow would remove it from criminals, cause prices to
fall and eliminate the black market. Well, alcohol and tobacco are
legal and regulated. Yet both are sold on the black market by
organized gangs, both cost the government more in health costs than
the revenue taxes from selling them, and both are more widely abused
than marijuana. Would regulating marijuana be any different?

We believe there's a real need to crack down on traffickers and to
inform the public.

Helping our kids make good choices starts by giving them real facts,
the kind with medical and scientific credibility.

As a parent and officer, I know when you strip away marijuana's thin
veneer of social acceptability and replace it with the medical truth,
making the right decision about use or legalization is pretty easy.

We all talk about our young people as our most precious resource. If
that's the case then it's incumbent on all of us to protect them by
giving them the facts. After all, awareness, education and prevention
are the key to making healthy choices that last a lifetime.

For more information call the RCMP Drug Awareness at (604) 264-3029.
Richard Barszczewski is Inspector, Officer in Charge Drug Intelligence
and Field Operations, RCMP "E" Division