Pubdate: Mon, 15 Dec 2008
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2008 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/theprovince/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n1113/a01.html
Author: Russell Barth

POLICE POT HYPE

The police's assertions that marijuana is a major threat to road
safety is not supported by the science or the numbers.

These "drugged-driving" laws were designed to let police profile the
young, the poor, people of colour and people with non-regulation
haircuts. I guess federally licensed medical marijuana users like
myself should consider ourselves banned from driving for life, but the
neighbour driving, gooned on antihistamines can relax.

Sounds fair.

Sure, pot can impair some people, but it doesn't impair every user,
and it doesn't impair every time. What about cell phones, coffee,
smokes, loud passengers, food in hand, medications, inexperience and
plain old stupidity?

Canadians smoke more pot than any other country. We use the most
potent pot and we admit to toking and driving more than any other
country. Why are we not seeing four or even five times as many crashes
as we are?

Like everything police say about marijuana -- it is all just a lot of
hype. This policy will clog our courts, saddle tens of thousands of
Canadians with criminal records, and do nothing at all to improve road
safety.

The public is being duped. This is just another scam to keep cops
busy, lawyers rich, and jails full.

Russell Barth,

Nepean, Ont.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake