Pubdate: Wed, 25 Sep 2002
Source: Gulf Islands Driftwood (CN BC)
Copyright: 2002 Gulf Islands Driftwood
Contact:  http://www.gulfislands.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/862

FREEDOM OF CHOICE

Society gives people the opportunity to make individual choices, some of 
which come with inherent risks or dangers.

We can, for example, choose to jump from a plane with a parachute, climb 
the face of a sheer cliff, or race across the water at breakneck speeds.

We can also choose to eat exorbitant amounts of heart-harming red meat, 
smoke lung-charring tobacco and drink alcohol to excess - as long as we 
don't harm or injure anyone else in the process.

But lawmakers have prohibited us from making choices when it comes to 
smoking pot, and they spend an excessive amount of money on enforcing this 
top-down decision.

The ability to make appropriate choices - like consuming alcohol in 
moderation - is something individuals must learn. Most people who light up 
a cigarette are aware of the dangers involved in smoking.

Youth, who may be more influenced by their peers and less caring about the 
effects of risky behaviour, have greater restrictions placed on their 
ability to make individual choices. They can't drive or purchase tobacco 
until they are 16, and in B.C., cannot legally drink alcohol until they are 19.

Parents and educators need to teach youth how to make good choices, how to 
stand up for what they believe in and how to avoid being pressured by peers.

It is important people understand the risks involved in all dangerous 
behaviour because individual choices can have collective results. And this 
is where the law needs step in. An individual who gets behind the wheel of 
a car while he is drunk can harm or even kill others who have not chosen to 
participate in a dangerous activity.

Law-makers need to focus their resources on containing behaviour that has 
moved from individual choice to collective danger.

Too many resources are wasted on finding and destroying marijuana crops, 
and prosecuting individuals for possession and cultivation.

Pot-smoking is probably almost as common as alcohol consumption; and 
certainly more common than sky-diving or rock climbing. Like alcohol, it 
can have dangerous side effects and needs to have perimeters set around its 
use.

We believe pot should be decriminalized. Age restrictions can be placed on 
its consumption and consumers educated in the dangers associated with its 
use. Growers can cultivate it like any other crop, and government officials 
can tax it, if they must.

Many individuals - probably those who already refrain from using pot - will 
choose not to light up. The many people who have already decided to 
participate in risky behaviour will continue to do so. They should be free 
to make that choice.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom