A PASS ON THE GRASS

THE FRASER Institute, a Canadian think-tank, is backing away from the
conclusion reached in a research paper it published yesterday that
said marijuana should be legalized and taxed. The study found
marijuana production in Canada is virtually unstoppable and the only
question remaining is who "shall enjoy the spoils."

Stephen Easton, professor of economics at Simon Fraser University and
a senior fellow of the institute, said the government could make $2
billion a year if it taxed and regulated pot like any other commodity.

Institute executive director Michael Walker said the conclusions are
Easton's and don't represent the position of the think-tank. He said
all authors of the institute's studies work independently.

'An Excellent Paper'

"We distance ourselves from all conclusions from any paper we
publish," he said. "I may agree with them but my colleague down the
hall may not and other members across the country may not."

Walker, however, said Easton's work is an "excellent paper" that
deserves to be seriously considered.

"We do support the research paper which raises a subject people would
rather sweep under the rug," he said.

"It outlines why (fighting marijuana) is not a war we're likely to
win, so we should be looking at other ways of handling it."

Easton's study, which said the war on drugs has "long since been
lost," calculated if marijuana were sold "by the cigarette" in B.C. it
would be worth $7 billion.

"We are reliving the experience of alcohol prohibition of the early
years of the last century."