Pubdate: Mon, 27 Jan 2014
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2014 Stephen Clark
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Stephen Clark
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n064/a06.html

DOING DILIGENT JOB

In City police lay most pot charges (SP, Jan. 18) Dana Larsen,
director for a group campaigning to decriminalize cannabis in B.C.,
denigrated Saskatoon police for charging 82 per cent of people they
encountered in possession of marijuana compared to police in cities
such as Halifax who only charged 18 per cent.

The story had a negative connotation toward Saskatoon police when in
reality the people of Saskatoon can be very proud of the officers they
have hired to enforce the laws. Those of us whose brain cells are not
yet fried understand that Canadians make the laws and we hire and
train police officers to enforce those laws until we decide to change
them.

The people of Saskatoon have the same law as the rest of Canada, which
prohibits the possession of cannabis. It is the duty of police to
enforce that law, not to decide what laws they will enforce.

Any police officer who fails to enforce the law, no matter what his
opinion, is negligent. So I would like to give kudos to SPS officers
for being the least negligent in Canada on this law.

Larsen needs to be reminded that laws in Saskatoon are the same as in
other places. It's just that our police officers are doing what they
are hired to do.

Stephen Clark Saskatoon 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D