POT LOBBY DOESN'T REPRESENT ALL

To the editor:

Re: 'Police chief's position on pot criticized,' letters from Sept. 18, 2002.

If the letters, predominantly from the U.S., are a fair representation of
the letters you received, it is apparent the pro-pot lobby is much better
organized than the majority of people I talk to in Durham Region.

While there are many impairments to rational judgment, both alcohol and pot
have the potential as major hallucinogenics and consequently put others and
their property directly at risk from those whose judgment is distorted.

The Canadian Senate's advocacy of 'responsible' use is a joke. Surely our
legislators know responsibility is something better assumed than imposed.
This is not to say current laws and their enforcement are the best way to
deal with the problem. Laws, to be respected, must first of all be
enforceable. To be enforceable they must, in Sir Winston Churchill's words,
"flow from the people," and therefore reflect the morality of the majority
in the community to which they apply.

Since there is no way to determine the moral consensus of the community,
other than measuring with public opinion polls the extent to which media
propaganda has penetrated the public mind, we are left with a
media-determined interpretation of what law should flow from the people.
Negative-option rules and our politicians have aligned themselves with the
"governing party" as "rulers" instead of "governing the rulers."

Let the punishment fit the "crime." There is a big difference between
"responsible" use and "accountable use." We have protection of others and
their property from the abuse of vehicle use. Why not require those who use
hallucinogenics to take out an insurance policy for the protection of the
public.

Ed Goertzen

Oshawa