Dear Editor:
Re: Is it finally time to legalize pot?, Editor's Letter, by Pat Tracy, Burnaby NOW, Feb. 17.
Hallelujah! Four former B.C. attorneys general have joined four former Vancouver mayors endorsing an end to marijuana prohibition and, according to an Angus Reid poll, 78 per cent of the B.C. public agree it's "finally" time to legalize pot.
Legalize pot and - presto - gang-related violent crime in our communities and fear among our citizens would disappear!
But wait, that's not all! The collateral benefit of a "potted" Canada will be of having solved, virtually overnight, Canada's problem of declining tourism from south of the border and elsewhere.
Just think of the enormous tourism potential of a mass influx of drug-deprived folks descending on the "True North, Strong and Free and Legally Drugged," pouring untold millions of much-needed dollars into our struggling economy - with many undoubtedly wishing to stay permanently.
Indeed, that's the kind of "stimulus" (pun intended) that would really help us all get through these hard economic times with a "buzz."
On a less euphoric note, however, the myths and fallacies of "ending marijuana prohibition" are many. Here are just two, as outlined by the Canadian Police Association:
- Myth No. 1: Legalization will drive the crime rate down.
- Myth No. 2: Organized crime would be reduced if drugs were legalized.
While the proponents of marijuana legalization may consider the above mere "police propaganda," I would nevertheless challenge them to provide us with a view of whatever "reality" they are coming from.
E.W. Bopp, Tsawwassen
