MOLSON BREWERY GROW HOUSE PROVES POT'S IN DEMAND IN CANADA

It was an activist's delight: more than 30,000 pot plants growing
inside the former Molson brewery in Barrie, some budding within the
same giant steel vats that produced buckets of beer.

When police raided the site earlier this month and discovered a
full-fledged marijuana farm brimming room-to-room producing an
estimated $100-million worth of the weed, they not only opened the
doors on the largest indoor grow operation in Canadian history, they
also fired up talk about the federal government's current
marijuana-reform legislation and the proliferation of pot in this province.

In the wake of the discovery, OPP deputy commissioner Vaughn Collins
said commercial marijuana grow operations have now reached "epidemic
proportions," and are in "every community." He also said most are
controlled by organized crime.

That they are controlled by organized crime is hardly a surprise.
There clearly is a demand for marijuana in this province, and the
country as a whole. The current government needs to cut through the
haze and take this problem off the backs of police.

Medical marijuana is legal in Canada, but the federal Liberals have
placed so many restrictions on its use it's almost impossible to get.

As well, the government consistently chooses to conduct social studies
and research into the medical benefits of marijuana, instead of
dishing out it to those in need, such as people suffering from cancer,
AIDS and epilepsy.

That's why illegal grow houses are everywhere.

Just as there is a need for a bank, grocery store and gas station in
every community, the province's deputy minister has basically conceded
the same goes for a government-sponsored pot supplier.

National surveys regularly show century-long efforts to convince
Canadians of marijuana's ill effects have literally gone up in smoke,
as most Canadians support decriminalizing the possession of small
amounts of marijuana for personal use.

During Prohibition, organized crime controlled the liquor market, but
politicians got wise and are now cashing in by giving the people what
they want.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said today about marijuana. A
profitable cash crop exists and the Canadian government continues to
stall over making changes to pot-distribution laws, and over-assess
the weed's health and social implications rather than meeting an
undeniable demand.

The government has no qualms giving its citizens an unlimited supply
of alcohol and cigarettes -- all of which contribute to countless
health and social problems -- yet for some reason marijuana continues
to bewilder Parliament.

The government's stance on the issue is wackier than the weed itself.
It faces war, terrorism, disease and deficits. The feds should get on
to more serious business and let Canadians have their toke.