WE'RE LIVING IN A POLICE STATE

"Whenever legislators endeavour to take away and destroy the property
of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power,
they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are
thereupon absolved from any further obedience," John Locke wrote.

Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh's new law pretty well makes it clear
Canadians now live in a police state and that our homes are no longer
our castles. It was William Pitt who said "The poorest man may in his
cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail;
its roof may shake; the wind may blow through it; the storm may
enter; the rain may enter; but the King of England cannot enter --
all his force dares not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement!"
All that was sacrificed to stamp the "natural right to self-medicate"
out of existence.

The Safer Communities and Neighborhoods Act sound eerily similar to
laws passed against the scapegoats of Nazi Germany under the same
pretext; to protect the good people from evil elements in the
community. These are omnipotent state values. The bad apples and
Indian Posse are a direct result of drug prohibition laws.

The Beatles were the turning point when cannabis became a mainstream
ceremonial ritual for the anti-establishment '70s era. Parents were
strongly encouraged to denounce their children to the authorities in
the name of law and order then. Soon enough, the tables turned and
children were strongly encouraged to denounce their parents by former
American First Lady Nancy Reagan. Canada followed in the American
drug war footsteps and a further 20 years later the denouncing of
total strangers is encouraged by Crime Stoppers and like programs.
These results can be expected in a regimented population in which all
the external enemies were defeated. Plato observed the age-old
requirement of tyrants always stirring up some war or another in
order that the people require leadership.

The war on drugs has served the purpose of delivering internal
societal enemies admirably.

The parable of the fall metes out all the advice Canadians need to
make the right decision about authoritarian values. The supreme
authority lies. The serpent is the truth teller and leaves the garden
a whole lot more powerful than when he got there. The forbidden fruit
is where all the powers of allurement in the universe can be found.
Strong family values are the only proven tool that can instill the
moral character needed to resist temptation. Lies from authorities
just don't seem to work.

Perhaps it's time to separate medicine and state with a restoration
of our natural right to self medicate. That right is granted by the
Creator in Genesis. It is not the state or medicine that the plants
of Earth are ceded to, but to you. There needs to be a serious
discussion in this country.

Chris Buors, president

Marijuana Party of Manitoba

Winnipeg