WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES OUTDOOOR BUST MAKE?

Re: West Coast has 1.6 million fewer joints, Sept. 25.

So what if "Ucluelet RCMP have seized 900 ready-to-harvest marijuana
plants?" What difference will it make? Last year's police harvest
didn't stop this year's crop and this year's police harvest won't
stop next year's crop.

The recent outdoor marijuana "eradication" efforts by police are
glaring examples of the futility of prohibition.

Law enforcement efforts are not "stemming the tide" (or "taking a
bite out") of drugs, nor will they ever do so. It is all just an
expensive show at taxpayer expense to give the public the illusion
that something is being accomplished.

Why aren't journalists asking important questions, like:

1) Is there evidence that these eradication efforts actually reduce
the availability of marijuana on the street?

2) What percentage of the outdoor crops are police able to destroy?

3) How much do these annual eradication efforts cost? (diverted
police resources, overtime pay, helicopter use and fuel)

Taxpayers have a right to know the answers to these questions. This
futile and expensive ritual will continue, year after year, until we
finally come to our senses and end cannabis prohibition.

Every major study on the cannabis issue has come to the same key
conclusion as the 2002 Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs:
"The continued prohibition of cannabis jeopardizes the health and
well-being of Canadians much more than does the substance itself."
(Cannabis: Our Position for a Canadian Public Policy, 2002 -
www.SenateReport.ca )

Every day that we delay the end of this corrupting, harmful policy
the deeper the tentacles of organized crime infiltrate into our communities!

Ending cannabis prohibition is definitely in Canada's best interest.

Herb Couch
Nelson, B.C.