WHAT'S THE COST OF DECRIMINALIZATION?

The move by the Chretien government to decriminalize pot is bold and long
overdue, but at what cost?

To the Americans, this legislation will designate Canada as a safe haven
for drugs. This, of course, is not true but when did the truth ever enter
into American policy decisions?

Fantastic and unbelievable American foreign policies have been determined
by nothing but outright fabricated evidence. As a recent example, the world
cried when a young Muslim girl went before the United States congress and
testified about babies being torn from incubators in Kuwait during Iraq's
visit. The problem with this story was it never happened; it was simply an
American invention to justify their own objectives.

Why should we think similar fiction about us won't occur? I predict within
months the American media will be reporting about the drug lords of pot -
on the West Coast. If the average sentence for murder in the U.S. is 6 1/2
years, compared to 10 for pot trafficking, you have to wonder what their
priorities are other than ramming their version of the world down our throats.

I applaud our federal government for finally getting off their well-paid
collective butts and doing something the general population all seem to
agree with.

Just don't expect our gun-toting neighbours to go along with it; there will
be ramifications. Our relations with President George Bush and the U.S. are
at an all-time low, they are just looking for a reason to put Canada in its
place and this could be it.

Robert Saint Amour Desolation Sound