CHASE THE REAL ROSZKOS

Regarding the families of the Mayerthorpe victims, as much as I
sympathize with those fallen officers and their families, I feel
obligated to point out that stiffer drug laws will only make things
worse, and more people would die.

If we stiffen our drug laws, exactly where would we put the estimated
1.5 million marijuana growers, and over three million users? Who would
pay for the investigations, arrests, trials, and incarceration of
these people? Taxpayers, that's who.

How many cop-hating, gun-toting, child-molesting sickos like Roszko
would we have to set free, in order to incarcerate all of these evil
plant-tenders? How many more violent crimes will continue to go
un-investigated while police spend even more time and effort chasing
gardeners?

What we need to do is officially regulate the criminals right out of
the business. It worked with alcohol in the last century and would
work even better with pot. It would be much safer for everyone involved.

Three billion dollars in annual tax revenue could do a lot to help
police fight real crime, but that would be the sensible thing for our
government to do, so I won't hold my breath.

Russell Barth

Ottawa

(No, their sense is spent elsewhere.)