GROWING FOR THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

Would Legalizing Marijuana Be Good For The Authorities?

A retired B.C. teacher recently told me a funny story about a grade
eight class she had taught. The class was debating the legalization
of marijuana.

First, the young legalization advocates laid out various arguments
against prohibition, including many of the usual claims. Prohibition
doesn't deter people from smoking or growing pot--it funds the much
more deplorable activities of criminal gangs who corrupt public
officials and import guns and harder drugs. It also wastes taxpayers'
money on ineffective enforcement while forgoing billions of dollars
in potential tax revenue.

Then the students who opposed legalizing marijuana laid out their
case: Legalization of marijuana is simply a wrong-headed idea. Why?
Because inevitably it would drive pot prices downward, the government
would put outrageous taxes on the stuff, and growers and the local
economy generally would suffer as a result.

"You could tell which kids were from growing families," the former
teacher told me with an uncertain smile.

This little anecdote symbolizes to me that the marijuana industry has
passed the point of no return. The evidence, it seems, is becoming
quite clear--somebody stands to make loads of money from drugs like marijuana.

The only real question is who? The answer to this question may have
big implications, not just for growers trying to support their
families and the local economy, but also for international security
and the scope of organized crime.

So, how big is the B.C. pot industry?

Many of us, perhaps without realizing it, know people who have worked
in the "bud mines" of B.C. The Fraser Institute estimates there are
17,500 grow-ops in the province, part of a multi-billion dollar
provincial industry they estimate could translate into $2 billion of
annual tax revenue.

An industry of this size implies tens of thousands of illicit
jobs--but that's not to say these jobs are unappreciated.

I asked one person what he thought of groups like the Hells Angels
and his response was a little alarming.

"They make good neighbours," he said.

Basically, he appreciated the role of groups like the Hells Angels in
providing law and order in the marijuana trade.

It's ironic, of course, but maybe it makes a bit of sense from a
certain viewpoint. With billions of dollars worth of illicit
commercial transactions taking place, perhaps it is inevitable that
gangs will aspire to keep things running smoothly within whatever
turf they can claim.

Not many will trust the RCMP to adequately provide the law and order for them.

But who knows? Maybe in the end, the RCMP will indeed be busting
teenagers for stealing their neighbours' pot plants. Maybe this will
prove to be the only way for governments to maintain their own turf
and shrink the money flowing to organized crime.

About 50,000 Canadians are arrested each year for marijuana-related
offences and hundreds of thousands of Canadians already have criminal
records for simple possession of marijuana.

The irony is that when drug users reach prison they find that drugs
are almost as accessible in jail as they are in the rest of society.
If tough enforcement can't even stop the supply of drugs in a prison
environment, is there any sense having drug enforcement in the rest of society?

Really, let's get our police officers doing more important work so
they can get the respect they deserve.

Indeed, while groups like the Hells Angels may be gaining legitimacy
among a few growers, governments, police and other authorities are
losing respect on a much larger scale in the eyes of youth and all
those who use marijuana or other illicit drugs.