DECRIMINALIZATION YES, LEGALIZATION NO

To the editor:

Re: Want to see criminal dope proceeds go up in smoke? Jeff Mitchell
column, April 7.

Although legalizing marijuana might be an appealing answer, it is not
the right one.

The Liberal government was right in developing decriminalization
legislation. Why? To think that legalizing the drug for everyone will
cut out the middleman makes just as much sense as saying that minimum
wages will create more jobs.

The opposite is true for both.

Legalizing marijuana will allow more people to become middlemen in
the pursuit of profit; minimum wage acts as a ceiling floor limiting
employment.

The use of drugs to be about the effects; in today's age it's about
how much profit can be made with little investment and the use of a
neighbour's hydro line.

If Canada legalizes marijuana, then it would create more middlemen,
which will mean more competition, and most likely, more dangerous and
criminal behaviour to protect that profit.

Decriminalization will limit criminal behaviour and reduce the burden
on the court system, while allowing people who make the choice to
smoke recreationally have peace of mind.

Matthew Fawcett

Oshawa