NO JOKE

RE "WACKY weed?" (Jan. 14): So Toronto lawyer Randall Barrs, who is
representing six of the men charged in Canada's largest indoor pot
grow operation thinks the public sees this case as a joke, and his
clients do not belong in jail.

While the irony of such an extensive marijuana grow lab operating in
plain sight, and undetected for so long in a former brewery is not
lost on me, I don't find it amusing.

Is it a joke that hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of
electricity may have been stolen to power the lab?

Is it a joke that the individuals charged, if found guilty, will
probably be given a slap on the wrist by our lenient justice system
for a crime that is punishable by death in some countries?

Is it a joke that our neighbour to the south views all Canadians as
potential drug couriers when crossing the border?

Is it a joke that organized crime is profiting handsomely from what,
when I last checked, was still an illegal activity in Canada?

Is it a joke that organized crime is further encouraged to engage in
these illegal activities because of the confusion created by the
Liberal government's flip-flopping pledge to decriminalize the
marijuana possession laws, and by irresponsible statements?

The real joke, if the truth be known, is on law-abiding Canadians.
Only the criminals are laughing.

Paul MacDonald,

Toronto

(And, apparently, at least one lawyer)