'CASH IN' ON MARIJUANA EXPORTS

It's not the 1920s, it's 2009 and year 89 of the War on BC
Bud.

In the Points of View section, of the Chilliwack Progress February 24,
2009, the editorial states, "With knee-jerk regularity they claim
every gangland slaying, every drive by attack could be avoided if
marijuana were legally obtainable."

Just in the last month there have been 13 shootings and it has been
publicly stated by both the government and the police all the
shootings and all the gang violence we have been experiencing is
directly connected to the BC illegal marijuana export drug trade.

The BC marijuana gang war is out of control and it is costing the BC
taxpayers billions of dollars every year and there is no end in sight
to the human death, suffering and collateral damage along the present
law enforcement course.

And it is going to get much worse because California is now proposing
a law to legalize the purchase and use of marijuana for anybody who is
over 21 years old.

British Columbia has the reputation of having the best marijuana in
the world. Should California legalize marijuana, British Columbia will
become a major exporter of illegal marijuana and it does not matter
what the police do, there is nothing they can do to stop the marijuana
exports because there is just too much money to be made by the
marijuana growing and smuggling gangs: We are talking about gangs
profiting billions of dollars every year and billions of dollars not
going into BC government coffers at a time the government really needs
the money.

Should California legalize marijuana, and they will, British Columbia
will become a major violent gang land turf for California marijuana
exporting gangs and the violence we have been experiencing today will
pale in future comparison.

We can snip the BC marijuana gangland problem in the bud by taking the
crime out of marijuana and begin treating marijuana as a legal and
licensed BC industry: And be in a position to be a legal California
marijuana supplier.

With the BC forest industry in decline, marijuana can become BC's new
billion dollar cash crop. The whole marijuana plant can be used: The
plant grows quickly to the size of trees, the trunks and stems can be
made into paper and the trunk fiber can be spooled into thread to make
cloth. The whole marijuana plant is sustainable and recyclable.

Cashing in on the billions of dollars a year in BC marijuana exporting
is not a knee-jerk reaction. We all know sooner or later marijuana is
going to be decriminalized. With BC marijuana having a reputation of
being the best marijuana in the world, why don't we in BC
decriminalize marijuana sooner, rather than later, so we in BC can
work out the bugs of marijuana decriminalization in order to get a
legal jump up into the billion dollar a year BC marijuana exporting
industry. We all know, once the California law to legalize marijuana
becomes law and the other states and countries see the marijuana
profits they will all follow California's lead.

It would be knee-jerk to think marijuana decriminalization will erase
the entire criminal element in our society as marijuana only
represents one part of the criminal market; but if marijuana
decriminalization can stop the violent marijuana gang wars in BC,
create sustainable employment, earn billions of dollars to help pay
down the BC debt, and save the life of one innocent person, then
marijuana decriminalization is a law worth passing.

Mike Hodge

Chilliwack