FEDS: THE NEW DRUG DEALERS

The Canadian government may soon decide it wants to legalize and
regulate the distribution of marijuana, becoming the country's
exclusive dealer.

That's right. In the wake of the recently released Statistics Canada
Health Survey pegging the number of Canadian pot smokers at an all
time high of 12.2 per cent, and public support for legalization high,
strolling down to your government sanctioned outlet to purchase taxed
marijuana seems plausible.

But why would Canada desire to legalize pot after labeling the weed
illegal and dangerous since the 1923 Opium and Drug Act?

It's not because the 2002 Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs presented
a "discussion paper" stating that marijuana is not a gateway to harder
drugs, like cocaine and heroine, and that fewer than 10 per cent of
users become addicted. The paper also states that although a lot of
public money is spent on law enforcement, public policies don't seem
to discourage use of the drug. I'm sure the Senate's study was
thorough, but many anti-pot-legalization proponents have presented
equally reliable research that contradicts this paper's findings.

Liberal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh recently said, "if you make
something illegal, some people are more attracted to it. If you allow
people to possess [marijuana], in small quantities for personal use,
the allure kind of disappears." This, he says, is one reason why his
government is leaning toward decriminalization.

His claim is ridiculous. People don't smoke pot because it's
fashionable to be "bad" or to gain social acceptance within their peer
group--people smoke pot because being high is a pleasurable and
relaxing experience.

And legalization isn't coming because the Senate's "discussion paper"
found that "scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicates that cannabis
is substantially less harmful than alcohol and should be treated not
as a criminal issue but as a social and public health issue." That
line of reasoning leads more directly to the conclusion that alcohol
should be illegal--but we're getting closer.

Marijuana, like its toxic cousin alcohol, is a highly profitable
consumer commodity and after years of paying billions to police it,
the feds may have decided they want their cut of bud sales instead.
Legalization is coming because of the easy tax revenue.

A new study released by the Fraser Institute states that legalizing
marijuana could bring $2 billion in revenue to the government.
According to the study, those caught with possession of marijuana are
rarely charged, and those convicted rarely go to jail, so legalization
would save the Canadian criminal justice system $500 million in court,
jails and policing costs.

Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell also sees pot as an economic boon. In a
recent speech to the annual meeting of the British Columbia Civil
Liberties Association, Campbell said that taxes levied on marijuana
sales could add to the resources for treatment.

"Remember, the B.C. marijuana trade is estimated at $6 billion
annually," he said, "larger than construction or forestry." Sounds
like a win-win situation for everybody: the leftist liberals can smoke
their pot in peace, and although the conservative right will dislike
it, they'll love the financial gain the tax revenue will bring in.

It seems, however, that the feds have forgotten one little
thing--those criminal enterpreneurs making the estimated $6 billion a
year probably won't be too eager to share the wealth with the Canadian
government. If the judicial system can't shut them down when marijuana
is illegal, what makes the government think that "regulation" will
work?

And who's going to buy taxed pot when they can get it for less from
the dealer down the street, or grow it in their bedroom closet with
heat lamps?

The reality is that a federal distribution monopoly will result in the
government spending all of its projected tax revenue enforcing grow-op
regulations.

Mr. Martin, legalize marijuana if you can, but don't try to compete
with existing dealers.