POT TAX WORTH $2B IN REVENUE

VANCOUVER -- The federal government should decriminalize marijuana and
tax the revenue, says a report released yesterday by the usually
conservative Fraser Institute. Conservative estimates show the
government stands to reap an estimated $2 billion in potential
revenues annually into its coffers, said Steve Easton, a Simon Fraser
University prof.

The benefits of legalizing are that organized crime would be shut out
and those harmed by marijuana could get treatment instead of going to
jail, Easton argued.