GOOD USE OF 'POT' FUNDS

What We Think

A program that allows marijuana users to avoid prosecution if caught,
makes sense on a number of levels.

Pot smokers nabbed for possession can avoid a criminal record if they
agree to help fund a program that educates local youth on the dangers
of drug use. It's an inspired way of sending a message to those who
break the law, while at the same time convincing youth to turn a deaf
ear to the seductive message of drugs.

Perhaps as important is the impact such a program will have on the
courts and police. Resources used to arrest and prosecute pot users
can and should be directed towards much more sinister menaces:
life-draining scourges like crack cocaine and crystal meth, and
large-scale, organized-crime grow-ops. These operations hide in
well-to-do subdivisions across the province and country, their inner
workings invisible to passersby going about their daily business. They
are not harmless. Shoddy wiring to avoid detection leaves them
potential firetraps, while lost revenue from stolen hydro that powers
them is recouped by utilities through higher rates to Mr. and Mrs.
Consumer.

The largest of these grow-ops, such as the one which blossomed in
Barrie's old Molson plant, are export-focused criminal enterprises.
Pot goes south, and guns and drugs like crack come north, ending up in
Canadian cities. It's serious business.

Prime Minister Paul Martin continues to muse about decriminalization
for possession of small amounts of pot. We support this initiative. It
will free up law-enforcement resources for more serious crimes, as
does the local program.