POT CRUSADER PUNISHED FOR WHO HE IS

Re: 'Pot crusader jailed, travel up in smoke' (Aug. 30)

Everything that is wrong about the justice system in Canada is evident
in the jailing of cannabis crusader Chris Goodwin.

First of all, it is evident Goodwin was punished for who he is and not
what he did. Across this nation, it seems the prohibition law is not
applied uniformly. Marc Emery, founder of the B.C. Marijuana Party, is
jailed for passing a joint in Saskatchewan. I am jailed in Manitoba
for running the Compassion Club and now Goodwin is jailed for running
the Up in Smoke Cafe. Obviously, political leaders in the repeal
movement are in for it when they face judgment day. No private
citizens would have gone to jail for any of these minor charges. Let
me say that Emery, Goodwin and I understand that the proper place for
a just man in a country with unjust laws is in jail. Sometimes, jail
is the price liberty demands. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was at his
most inspirational when he wrote his letter from a Birmingham jail. I
encourage everybody to read that letter if they want to understand
what would possess Goodwin to do what he did.

King agreed with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all,"
and said a man, "who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in
order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice is
in reality expressing the highest respect for law." That describes
Chris Goodwin to a T.

Chris Buors, President Manitoba Marijuana Party

Winnipeg