cannabisnews.com: Pot Laws: Only Two Possible Choices





Pot Laws: Only Two Possible Choices
Posted by CN Staff on June 13, 2004 at 17:21:29 PT
Editorial
Source: Toronto Sun 
As usual, the federal Liberals have it all wrong on marijuana. And Prime Minister Paul Martin's promise to revive their decriminalization bill should the Grits win re-election is just another dumb idea. There are only two logical approaches to this issue: Either enforce the marijuana laws we now have and put the organized criminals behind the big grow operations behind bars -- which is our view -- or legalize it, as advocated by economics professor Steve Easton in a report released by the Fraser Institute last week.
But decriminalization is a no-man's land that will put the police in an even more impossible position than they are now. Either give police the resources and laws they need to deal with marijuana, or free them from fighting a losing battle. If society no longer believes the growing, consuming and trafficking in marijuana is a crime, then legalize it and tax it, which Easton estimates would pour $2 billion annually into government coffers from the $7-billion-a-year industry in B.C. alone. We take another view. Crack down on the organized criminals who are heavily involved in growing and trafficking and allow prosecutorial discretion for casual users, as is often the case now. But let's stop pretending the big grow-ops are harmless fun. This is big business with big profits. Remember the huge grow-op police discovered in the old Molson brewery near Barrie last year? Right now, marijuana laws aren't being enforced evenly across the country. Easton found that in B.C. only 13% of possession cases end in charges -- compared to 60% elsewhere in Canada. In Vancouver, 55% of those convicted for running grow-ops did no jail time, while 13% were jailed for only one to 31 days. Imagine how much confusion there will be if the decriminalization bill is revived, which would make simple possession the equivalent of a parking fine and establish penalties ranging from fines to 14 years in prison (don't hold your breath) for grow-ops, depending on their size. The penalties for trafficking would remain the same, but clearly, if marijuana is decriminalized, then sentencing will become even more lax than it is now. Some police support decriminalization while others oppose it. We want effective laws that protect society, not politically correct half measures like decriminalization that only muddy the water. Either give our marijuana laws teeth or legalize pot, regulate it and tax it. And if it's the latter, come up with a realistic way to deal with drivers who are impaired by marijuana and address the furious reaction we'll get from the U.S. Finally, figure out a sane way to supply pot to people entitled to use it for medical purposes, a relatively small job the feds have already botched. Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)Published:  Sunday, June 13, 2004 Copyright: 2004 Canoe Limited PartnershipContact: editor sunpub.comWebsite: http://www.torontosun.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmThe Lucrative Business of Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18979.shtmlStudy Sees Pot of Gold in Illegal B.C. Crophttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18976.shtmlFraser Institute Says Gov't Should Cash in On Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18974.shtml 
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Comment #4 posted by Virgil on June 14, 2004 at 06:50:06 PT
Turmel disects this article
Turmel has taken this article and addressed it paragraph by paragraph at http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/MedPot/message/1231 Turmel says with confidence again that Terry Parker killed possession prohibition and Kreiger killed cultivation in Alberta and therefor Canada. His last paragraph brings up the Marko case in Oshawa that will come before his trial on Thursday in Ottawa.This message is written very clearly and is easy to comprehend what Turmel is saying. This is his response to the first paragraph- JCT: How illogical to say that there are two logical
solutions where there is only one! Bad news, these seem like the journalism grads who barely passed "Tape Recorder 101." There is only one logical solution, the best solution. I won't want for two.Here are two paragraphs from the article and Turmel's response-ED: But decriminalization is a no-man's land that will put
the police in an even more impossible position than they are
now.JCT: How is stopping their arresting people putting them in
an impossible spot?ED: Either give police the resources and laws they need to
deal with marijuana, or free them from fighting a losing
battle.JCT: Option 1 is an admitted loser so that's illogical while Option 2 is the only winning solution so that is logical. Again, my choice boils down to one and they still insist on contemplating a loser with a winner and calling both winners.
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Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on June 14, 2004 at 05:51:41 PT
True
Option 1 is to legalize and increase tax revenues.Option 2 is to pass a large tax increase and begin building prisons to house 3% of Canadian men, just as the U.S. does. The price of cannabis will double and young teenagers will use it even more.
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Comment #2 posted by mayan on June 14, 2004 at 02:50:37 PT
"One" Logical Approach
"There are only two logical approaches to this issue: Either enforce the marijuana laws we now have and put the organized criminals behind the big grow operations behind bars -- which is our view -- or legalize it, as advocated by economics professor Steve Easton in a report released by the Fraser Institute last week."Let's see, we can continue the same old disastrous policy or we can try a different approach. The best answer is so obvious! Outright legalization is the only practical solution.How long must we live with such a failed policy? The way out...State Dept. Quashed 9/11 Links To Global Drug Trade -
FBI Whistleblower:
http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=293&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0Republicans are behind the effort to censor Fahrenheit 9/11:
http://www.altpr.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=197&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0WHO PAYS THE BILLS FOR "MOVEAMERICAFORWARD.ORG":
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/russo.htmlCitizensWatch Hosting Pentagon victim and 9/11 investigators at National Press Club in D.C.
http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=292&mode=thread&order=0&thold=09/11 Truth:
http://www.911truth.org/
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on June 13, 2004 at 18:15:08 PT
More shit or get off the pot
Try to crap if you can, but it is time to get over pot. One side is gaining and the other side is being evaporated by conquest of ignorance and never replaced. There is a certain basic appeal of such an oblivious editorial in that it is hard to argue with not to decide is to decide.The election will be over in two weeks and a day. There will definitely be a rise in NDP representation and the Liberals will lose their majority. Enforcing unjust laws at the expense of the public treasury is not going to happen. There is only one Logical Conclusion- get off the pot.
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