POT TO BECOME A CASH CROP?

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon recently traveled to Washington to brief
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft on the Liberal government's plan to do
away with jail terms and criminal records for people convicted of
possession of small amounts of pot. Instead, the Liberals propose to fine
offenders, treating the incident in the same manner as a traffic
violation. I am relieved by the Liberals recent announcements to US
attorney general John Ashcroft for several reasons. For one, before this
legislation was tabled in the Canadian House of Commons, our government
leaders have had the courtesy to inform our neighbours to the south about
its implications so as to allay their fears. So the Liberal sucking up
continues and is quickly becoming costly as the Chretien government also
announced another 200 million aide package for Iraq. At this rate,
actually fighting in the war would have ended up costing less.

I am reassured to learn that the use of marijuana is not being
decriminalized; instead it may become a cash cow for government coffers as
the fines are handed out. Leave it to the Chretien Liberals to figure out
a way to get a piece of this multi-billion dollar black market activity. I
could not understand why they would risk raising this delicate issue but
now the possibilities seem endless. Who knows - if this initial trial goes
well, the Liberals might not only legalize pot use, but also levy taxes on
its sale and use. We already know what that did for the price of
cigarettes and alcohol. I am sure all pot users must be chomping at the
bit, knowing that the next time they light up they may actually be helping
to reduce the national debt. This pot may just turn out to be a pot of
gold for revenue Canada.