WAKE-UP CALL FOR NATION

Thursday's tragic slaying of four RCMP officers in Alberta was a
wake-up call for this nation to take a good long look in the mirror in
terms of our national drug policy.

The fact that these brave officers were killed on a cannabis grow
operation raid made such a tragedy seem completely senseless and so
unnecessary.

In a nation of 30-million people where a full two-million adults
report using cannabis on a regular basis, Canadians need to look
closely whether cannabis prohibition is more desirable for society
than decriminalization and regulation by the government of the drug
would be.

The question needs to be asked: Had cannabis been a regulated
substance like much more dangerous substances such as alcohol and
tobacco currently are, would these officers be alive today? Without
cannabis prohibition, there simply wouldn't be the massive black
market for the drug that leads to these type of illicit grow
operations popping up all across Canada.

Gavin Wiens

Winnipeg