HARSH SENTENCE FOR POT OFFENCE OUT OF LINE

I haven't tried squid, reality TV or tower diving. I have also never tried
marijuana.

Just because I have never tried these things I wouldn't suggest they should
be deemed illegal or a public hazard.

I am appalled at the sentence given to cannabis advocate Marc Emery, not
because he shouldn't be punished for breaking the law but because the
sentence is out of line with those for other, more major, crimes.

Every day we hear of ridiculously short sentences given for heinous acts,
such as less than two years for caging your children and otherwise abusing
them for years. A convicted pedophile served only slightly more than three
months in prison, and an initial charge of spousal battery doesn't even
result in jail time.

I am told the stiff punishment was to act as a deterrent, so others
wouldn't be enticed to try marijuana after Emery and his pals so
imaginatively altered the Canadian flag and protested for a change in the
law, before he passed his toke to a companion.

Of course there would be risks inherent to smoking pot. But consider
falling headfirst 10 metres to land in three metres of water. Definitely
risk is involved in tower diving, yet Olympic medals are awarded for that one.

And I can't see how the risks in smoking pot could be worse than those for
tobacco. Tobacco isn't illegal. Rather, the government taxes the heck out
of it, purportedly using the income to fund social programs.

Instead of making it illegal to smoke cannabis, why not legalize it and
impose the same degree of taxes we see on tobacco and gasoline?

That tax income could be put toward road improvement, something
Saskatchewan desperately needs. Think about it: we could use the pot tax to
fill the pot holes.

Michelle Galvin, Saskatoon