REEFER MADNESS PREVAILS

The city's public safety advisory committee's "victim impact statement" is
a nice gesture, but misguided and a little naive.

The committee has drafted a 1,200 word victim impact statement for the
whole city that can be read whenever a convicted marijuana grower is being
sentenced. Their aim is for the sentencing judge to hear about the high
cost of grow ops and the affect they have on taxpayers. The committee hopes
the sentencing judge will hand down a lengthier term of incarceration.

Fat chance.

We agree the proliferation of grow ops in this city has become a problem.
The corresponding crime that accompanies grow ops, the fire hazards, the
environmental degradation and the costs to landlords and taxpayers are all
real. But the reality is that those who work in the weed industry simply
don't care what the penalties are-the reward of a successful grow op is
well worth the time or fine they could receive.

It's the cost of doing business. They know it, the cops know it, yet city
hall is apparently misguided enough to believe that a piece of paper read
before a sentencing judge is an effective way to combat the problem.

The growing sentiment in this country is that decriminalization of
marijuana is the right path to start down in dealing with this illegal and
booming industry. While some may feel it's an admission of defeat, most are
starting to see the writing on the wall-the real reefer madness is our
continued method of fighting a war we simply can't win.

While the RCMP's grow op task force continues to receive weekly ink in the
local newspapers for taking down one grow op after the other, they aren't
make a dent in the overall scene. More cops, more busts, more grow ops to
replace the fallen few.

The current program isn't working and the only ones that can see that are
the pot growers themselves...and that's just sad.