DECRIMINALIZE POT: READER

Letter to the editor:

I find the ongoing debate of who should pay to dismantle marijuana
grow ops ridiculous.

Intelligent dialogue regarding grow ops needs to start at
decriminalizing the plant. I believe decriminalization is the answer
to bringing down marijuana's multi-million dollar underground crime
culture, as well as freeing up the millions of tax dollars and
thousands of police hours spent every year in this country enforcing
marijuana laws.

People smoke pot whether it is legal or not. Would you rather have
neighbours who smoke pot in the privacy of their own home, or
neighbours who run an illegal enterprise out of their house that
often includes armed criminals, risk of explosion and possible
altercations with police? Considering that you already have
neighbours who smoke pot in the privacy of their own home - and yes,
you do - let's just get rid of the grow ops, the criminals and the
millions of wasted tax dollars. This is a no brainer.

Leslie Stead