ALBERTA TRAGEDY ABOUT A MADMAN, NOT MARIJUANA

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 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.

- - Abbotsford News