NEWS COLUMNISTS DUKE IT OUT ON AIR

North Shore News columnists Jerry Paradis and Wally Craig are leaping
off the page for a live radio debate on marijuana legalization this
Saturday.

The two retired judges will square off on the Roy Green Show aired
across the Corus radio network and heard locally on CKNW AM 980. The
two are slotted for a debate between 1 and 1:30 p.m. local time Saturday.

"I think (Green has) read both our columns and knows diametrically
opposed views when he reads them," Paradis said with a laugh. "I don't
think there's anything more fancy to it than that. He just knows it's
going to be a good fight."

Paradis added Green approached the two judges following a previous
talk show on marijuana legalization, which drew tremendous public interest.

Paradis and Craig were appointed as provincial court judges in 1975
and became columnists for the News in 2004. Both boast extensive
experience dealing with drug-related cases in the justice system, but
the two have formed vastly different opinions when it comes to
legalization of street-level drugs, frequently voiced in their columns
for the News.

"We have thousands and thousands of grow-ops run by organized crime
here, and a simple legalization statute by the government won't make
them go away," said Craig, who vehemently opposes legalizing drugs.
"We need more police than we've got now to try and chase them down."

Craig, who wrote a book about his time as a provincial court judge on
Vancouver's "skid road," said he was looking forward to the friendly
debate with Paradis.

"My point will be that you simply cannot legalize the trafficking of
marijuana, because it's already here and it won't go away," he said.

On the other hand Paradis' years on the bench led him to form the
opinion that drug prohibition was a futile, demanding and damaging
exercise in the legal system. He now sits on the board of Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

Paradis said he didn't have any tactics up his sleeve to defeat Craig
in an on-air debate but said he too was looking forward to it.