MARIJUANA SHOULD BE LEGALIZED, NOT JUST DECRIMINALIZED

Recent statistics show what most people have known for decades:
Marijuana prohibition has been a miserable failure, and cannabis is
never going to go away. Kids can buy pot, usually from other kids, in
schoolyards and playgrounds. Dealers never ask for valid ID.

The lies anti-drug groups perpetrate - for example, cannabis is
dangerous, or cannabis is a gateway drug - have all fallen on deaf
ears. The police are outnumbered a thousand to one, and no matter how
many busts they make, they have no chance of making a dent in the
black market.

There were more arrests and convictions last year relating to
marijuana than in any other year in Canadian history, and that was
during a year the law prohibiting possession was found by Ontario
Superior Court to be of "no force and effect."

The Liberal government talks of "decriminalization" but it actually
means "alternative penalties," which is worse than what we have now.
More of the same, with a different name. "Regulation" is what we need
now, and decriminalization won't accomplish that.

Now is the time for legalization, not decriminalization. That means
regulation, sales to adults only in stores, commercial grow
facilities, and billions of dollars every year in tax revenues for
government.

Russell Barth

Ottawa