Pubdate: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB) Copyright: 2002 The Edmonton Journal Contact: http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134 Author: Robert Betty MINISTER'S POT-SMOKING ADMISSION DISTURBING Cauchon Undercuts Parents' Message On Law Obedience I am shocked and disappointed by the comments of Justice Minister Martin Cauchon and would like an apology to me and all other parents working hard to teach children to respect the laws of this land (not to mention their health.) When asked if he had used marijuana the quotation attributed to Cauchon was:"I'm 39 years old. Yes, of course I tried it before, obviously" (Journal, July 17). The implication is that everyone did it, so it was OK. My 39th birthday is approaching and I, for one, have not tried marijuana. Many of my friends did, but many of them chose not to. Some abstained because they were athletes, others for religious reasons, and some because it was (and still is) illegal and our parents taught us not to break the law, whether or not we thought that law to be reasonable. Some of us were "nerds" and some were "cool," but all of us held to our convictions in the face of peer pressure. I resent the implication that an entire generation "obviously" tried marijuana. I had a very diverse circle of acquaintances in high school and university and my guess is that a significant percentage chose not to use marijuana. I can say with absolute certainty that every member of my peer group who tried it broke the law in doing so. I have no strong opinion either way about whether marijuana should be decriminalized, but I will continue to teach my two school-age children to respect the law and until the law changes, that means no marijuana! I would appreciate it if the minister of justice would stop undercutting these efforts. I understand that this is a complex issue and applaud the justice minister being open and honest in his statements of personal experience. I cannot, however, condone a minister of justice who admits to having knowingly broken the law without the slightest hint that this might have been wrong or that it represented a lapse in judgment. Robert Betty Edmonton - --- MAP posted-by: Beth