POT POL

As the leader of Quebec's pro-marijuana political party, the Bloc Pot, I
was overjoyed to read your April 1 editorial titled Time to Legalize Pot.
Despite all the hope this article generates that the day will come when
cannabis is as legitimate as a mixed drink or cafe latte, I am still of the
opinion that this is not about to happen soon.

Granted, some of our elected representatives have realized there is
political capital to be gained by taking up this cause. Their motives seem
sincere, their reasons are logical, they propose various private bills and
yes, they even get their party to adopt an official position. For all the
posturing, however, nothing gets done.

The real problem is there is no political will to seriously adopt a policy
of decriminalization. The powerful industrial and military lobbies that
profit directly from marijuana prohibition can generate resistance and
prevent more comprehensive legislation from passing. This is compounded by
Canada's obligations toward international treaties that require a
repressive policy toward drugs.

The Bloc Pot sprung on to the Quebec scene in 1998. We ran 24 candidates on
the exclusively pro-marijuana reform platform and received almost 10,000
votes. We intend to run in the federal elections as the Marijuana Party.
The government had its chance to do something about it. Now the Marijuana
Party plans to take the issue straight to the ballot box.