DOOBIE-US LAWS

Re: Call for prisons, Aug. 9: Dave Breakenridge writes "for someone to go to
jail, people need to report the crime, a suspect has to be arrested, tried
and convicted." Not quite, at least not with the modified definition of
"serious crime" announced by the Conservative government.

Under the changes, any amount of cannabis grown or sold is now a
"serious crime", which allows the police to use their "organized
crime" tool box, without court permission, and asset forfeiture
without needing a conviction. Cops won't need more people reporting
crimes. They will simply spy on anyone they believe to be growing or
selling any amount of pot, arrest them, seize their property, then
deny them bail -- all without due process normally applied to regular
citizens.

So don't be mystified about who will fill those new prison cells;
it'll be your friends and family who use even a little bit of cannabis
on weekends, because they are now guilty of a "serious crime."

Jodie Emery
Vancouver

(Drug policy is a mess.)