FEDERAL GRITS SMOKING POT?

To the editor:

It appears that the federal Liberals have been spending a lot of time out
behind the Parliament buildings as of late smoking pot.

Who do they think they are kidding with their assurances they are not out
to fully legalize marijuana in Canada?

They want us to believe they only want to make the penalties on those who
are the victims of the drug pushers a little more realistic. It sounds like
the same argument used to bring in the sale of alcohol a number years back.
The legalization of alcohol, and tobacco, may have brought the government a
few shekels in the tax department but how many Canadians, both young and
old, have died needlessly because alcohol and tobacco has been legalized.

The Liberals tell us they will spend $250 million of taxpayers' money to
educate Canadians about the dangers of smoking marijuana. Think about it.
How much good have education programs on tobacco and alcohol done? Drive by
any school in Canada at noon hour. Either 18 year olds have become awfully
young-looking or kids aged 12 to 16 years old are smoking tobacco.

There is supposed to be a fine for merchants selling tobacco to, or anyone
buying tobacco for, minors. I wonder when was the last time anyone was
charged under the law?

Alcohol is the number one killer of teens in this country. What good have
the education programs done other than cost taxpayers billions of dollars?
If tobacco, alcohol and/or pot is killing our young, or any Canadian
citizen, or if it causes health problems, take the stuff off the market.
Don't weaken the laws denouncing it. You don't fight flood waters by
weakening the dike.

It appears the Liberals are merely in search of another item to slap their
"sin tax" on in an effort to recover some of the tax income lost because of
the drop in tobacco sales. A drop which came not because of government
advertising but from the cancer warnings that have come from medical folks
across this country.

The Liberals have already slapped the Americans' face over Iraq and it
appears, in many ways, we are paying a price for that. The Americans have
warned that if the Liberals proceed with the pot bill, then we should
expect more backlash from their side of the border.

The U.S. may be our number one importer now but if the Liberals keep
fooling around, we may become a Banana Belt republic with export totals
next in line to some whistle-stop in the South Pacific.

Len Colp