ALBERTA - ABOUT A MADMAN NOT A MARIJUANA ISSUE

A crazed man opens fire on Mounties on his rural property in northern
Alberta, killing four police officers before turning the gun on
himself, and all of a sudden Canada needs to get tougher on marijuana
grow operations?

Make no mistake: The tragedy in Alberta is about a mentally unstable
man with a known hatred of police, armed with a high-powered weapon
and a thirst for destruction.

It is not about marijuana grow operations. It probably doesn't matter
if there were marijuana plants growing on his property, or tulips and
roses. It just happens that, in this instance, it is the illegality of
marijuana that sent Mounties to the property in the first place. In
this instance, the law deeming marijuana as contraband prompted police
to investigate and enforce -and led to their deaths.

Based on what has emerged, James Roszko would likely have shot and
killed a police officer for walking onto his property to enforce a
speeding ticket fine.

Roszko was a 46-year-old recluse who hated almost everyone. His own
father called him a "wicked devil."

In 1999, he was charged with shooting at two people who entered his
property. In 1993, he was charged with assault and pointing a firearm,
among other charges, following a confrontation with a school trustee.

And he was scheduled to appear in court next month to face charges in
connection with damage to vehicles from a spike belt he liked to lay
across his driveway to discourage visitors.

Those four police officers died because Roszko decided to kill
them.

They did not die because of marijuana grow operations, which makes the
ensuing rush to call for a major crackdown on grow operations - from
Abbotsford Police Det. Don Mckenzie as president of the B.C.
Federation of Police Officers, to Solicitor General Rich Coleman, to
RCMP Commissioner RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli - all the
more ridiculous.

Stiffer penalties for growing marijuana would not have prevented the
deaths.

Repurcussions are an afterthought to a man mad enough to murder four
other men before killing himself.

The more salient question that needs answering - yet was buried under
the blitz yesterday to blame the deaths on marijuana grow-ops - is how
and why a man with a history of being charged with weapons offences
and well known in the community as being dangerous had in his
possession a rapid-fire auto carbine assault-style rifle.

* Christopher Foulds is the Editor of the Abbotsford Times