PROHIBITION DOESN'T WORK

To The Editor:

Regarding the story "Mounties notch record pot hauls," stop and think
of all the taxpayer money that goes into fighting a plant that God put
on this Earth.

I would assume this might not be a good time for God to return to his
planet, as he would probably be arrested for cultivating a controlled
substance with intent to distribute. This prohibition is on a
non-toxic plant that has been medicine to humans for over 5,000 years
and is now being recognized around the world by scientist and doctors
who are standing up and supporting this medicine.

Articles such as this give a prime example at how we are wasting
taxpayers' dollars on a failed war. This prohibition affects every
Canadian from coast to coast, whether they use cannabis or not. It
ties up police time and resources that could be used to catch real
criminals like child abusers and rapists. Perhaps fight the real drug
war such as against meth, crack and the pharmaceuticals that are
destroying lives, but pot?

This prohibition puts every Canadian at risk whether they use Cannabis
or not. It keeps the underground drug economy alive and thriving, just
like it did bootleggers back in that other failed prohibition era
which also brought a lot of crime into neighbourhoods. I wonder how
many children walk past a grow house on their way to school each day,
how many families are living next to a grow op run by organized crime,
where breaches of trust are normally met with violence.

Is this prohibition protecting those families? Your children or even
your grandchildren? No. It keeps them at risk daily.

All of these risks would be gone in a matter of days once we get past
this prohibition and the prices fall to such a low amount that there
is no profit to be made. "Organized crime" would have to close these
grow ops themselves because the revenue would be gone.

Mr. Cameron was right in claiming it affects every neighbourhood and
is "everyone's responsibility." Only I see it as having to fight this
unjust prohibition. It is this prohibition that is ruining the lives
of Canadians, not a joint.

Don't we owe it to our future generations to wrong the rights in life?
I thought we had learned something form the last prohibition. End the
prohibition, end the crime and violence and let our police go back to
catching real criminals. If they remember how to, that is.

Tim Murphy,

Medical Marijuana Exemptee,

Sisson Ridge