LEGALIZE IT, SAYS FRASER INSTITUTE

Ottawa should decriminalize marijuana and tax the revenue, says the
usually conservative Fraser Institute.

The government stands to reap an estimated $2 billion annually, said
Steve Easton, a professor of economics at Simon Fraser University and
senior fellow at the think-tank.

Easton said efforts to suppress marijuana have failed. "We've not been
successful in doing so and all we do is create an industry that really
gives organized crime a chance to get some revenue."

Legalization would shut out organized crime, Easton argued.

The study estimated there are roughly 17,500 marijuana grow-ops in
B.C.