RE: MARCHING FOR MARY JANE

Dear Editor,

As a Federal Medical Marijuana license holder who is also married to
one, I would like to thank the Nelson police for busting Paul
DeFelice. There had been a lull in publicity for our cause, so it
comes at a great time, highlighting, as it does, the mindless,
hypocritical absurdity and lunkheaded brutality of marijuana
prohibition.

It is unfortunate that Mr. DeFelice and others may go to jail, but
many activists suffer for their causes. Imprisoning him will not scare
more people away from marijuana; it will likely make more people take
up the cause. Paul may become a martyr, a folk-hero, and users and
non-users alike will come forward and voice their disgust.

Our "conservative" government knows full well that prohibition fuels
gang profits and street crime. That is why they like it. They get to
rant about the "soaring crime rates," while statistics show that there
has actually been a five per cent decrease in crime over the past year.

Taking the marijuana business out of the hands of teens and criminals
and putting it into the hands of responsible adults is socially
conservative. Generating tax revenue from that industry is fiscally
conservative, and using that money to teach kids why they should avoid
drugs is morally conservative.

By not legalizing and regulating marijuana production and sales, we
subsidize criminals, make pot easier for kids to access than either
tobacco or alcohol, waste valuable police resources and billions of
dollars annually, deprive ourselves of a source of valuable medicine,
and miss out on $3 billion in annual tax revenue.

The Tories refusal to even consider legalizing marijuana leads me to
wonder just which side of the law these so-called "conservatives" are
really on.

Russell Barth

Federal Medical Marijuana License Holder

Ottawa