Pubdate: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 Source: North Shore News (CN BC) Copyright: 2009 North Shore News Contact: http://www.nsnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/311 Author: Jessica Barrett Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) NEWS COLUMNISTS DUKE IT OUT ON AIR North Shore News columnists Jerry Paradis and Wally Craig are leaping off the page for a live radio debate on marijuana legalization this Saturday. The two retired judges will square off on the Roy Green Show aired across the Corus radio network and heard locally on CKNW AM 980. The two are slotted for a debate between 1 and 1:30 p.m. local time Saturday. "I think (Green has) read both our columns and knows diametrically opposed views when he reads them," Paradis said with a laugh. "I don't think there's anything more fancy to it than that. He just knows it's going to be a good fight." Paradis added Green approached the two judges following a previous talk show on marijuana legalization, which drew tremendous public interest. Paradis and Craig were appointed as provincial court judges in 1975 and became columnists for the News in 2004. Both boast extensive experience dealing with drug-related cases in the justice system, but the two have formed vastly different opinions when it comes to legalization of street-level drugs, frequently voiced in their columns for the News. "We have thousands and thousands of grow-ops run by organized crime here, and a simple legalization statute by the government won't make them go away," said Craig, who vehemently opposes legalizing drugs. "We need more police than we've got now to try and chase them down." Craig, who wrote a book about his time as a provincial court judge on Vancouver's "skid road," said he was looking forward to the friendly debate with Paradis. "My point will be that you simply cannot legalize the trafficking of marijuana, because it's already here and it won't go away," he said. On the other hand Paradis' years on the bench led him to form the opinion that drug prohibition was a futile, demanding and damaging exercise in the legal system. He now sits on the board of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). Paradis said he didn't have any tactics up his sleeve to defeat Craig in an on-air debate but said he too was looking forward to it. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin