Pubdate: Sun, 04 Mar 2001 Source: The Reporter Copyright: 2001 The Reporter Contact: N/A Author: Dana Larsen Cited: The Marijuana Party of British Columbia http://www.bcmarijuanaparty.ca/ Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjparty.htm (Canadian Marijuana Party) TOO MUCH TIME SPENT 'BUSTING POT SMOKERS' Editor: While Constable Frizzell and MP John Reynolds complain that the RCMP is understaffed, I wonder why neither suggests that available police resources be used in a more efficient manner. Although the vast majority of British Columbians accept marijuana as an essentially harmless herb with many valuable medicinal and social uses, BC police are spending ever-increasing amounts of time and personnel on busting pot smokers. In "pot-friendly" BC, police lay far more charges far marijuana possession than any other province. According to Statistics Canada, BC cops lay twice as many marijuana possession charges than the national average, and five times that of Quebec. Each year Toronto and Montreal each lay about 42 pot possession charges per 100,000 population. Vancouver's rate is a massive 260. In BC, the "war on drugs" is really a war on marijuana. 70% of all drug charges in BC involve only cannabis. Half of BC's 8000 annual drug offences are for simple possession of pot! British Columbia also sinks precious police personnel and resources into special "Green Teams," whose sole task is to raid homes and destroy marijuana plants in a vigilante style. This is not the kind of policing that the people of BC want to pay for! If Constable Frizzell and John Reynolds were truly representing the communities they serve, both would be outspoken advocates for ending the war on cannabis, and devoting police resources to real crimes. Legalizing marijuana would bring us all better policing and safer communities. Dana Larsen BC Marijuana Party candidate for Powell River - Sunshine Coast * The numbers I have quoted come from Statistics Canada and I can provide verification of my data upon request. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe