Pubdate: Mon, 12 Oct 2009 Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN) Copyright: 2009 The Leader-Post Ltd. Contact: http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361 Author: Dillon Skalicky THE CASE FOR LEGAL MARIJUANA Lately, there has been lots of talk about legalizing marijuana. It has become quite a controversial topic. In last year's federal election, the Green Party had legalizing marijuana for adult use as part of its platform. People are getting their hands on it and doing it, legalized or not. So if people are doing it regardless of the law, why doesn't the government just legalize it and turn a profit from it? Marijuana is something that the government could tax very heavily. The government could make it so it is the only one that can grow it and impose stiffer penalties for those caught growing it on their own. If the government is the only one growing and selling it, then you would not have to worry about getting stuff that is laced. There are some negatives that could come from this situation. One of the most difficult things that Canada will have to do is release all of the people who have been convicted of possessing marijuana. Another thing that might happen is countries breaking off ties with Canada. It would also be a lot harder to get over the border into the United States. In the end, although there are some cons that could happen from legalizing marijuana, there are pros that will come from legalizing it. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr