Pubdate: Sat, 16 Sep 2017
Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)
Copyright: 2017 Times Colonist
Contact:  http://www.timescolonist.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481
Author: Jeff Magee
Page: A13

POLICE CHIEFS SHOULD SIMPLY ENFORCE THE LAW

Re: "Postpone legal pot, police exhort feds," Sept. 13.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police seem to see their role as
being an obstruction to the implementation of public policy. To this
end, they want a delay of at least six months in the legalization of
marijuana. They say this is necessary in order to train officers and
certify more officers to conduct roadside tests.

Their overriding concern with the legalization of marijuana is a
dramatic increase in the number of people driving stoned. Let me
assure them this will not happen. They can sleep peacefully, without
the fear that hordes of stoned zombies are suddenly going to be
driving amok on our streets. Nothing is going to change. The simple
fact is, people have been getting high for 50 years. The reason
marijuana is being legalized is because almost everyone already uses
it.

How this obvious fact has eluded the police chiefs concerns me. Their
cognitive thinking seems to be somewhat impaired. Another fact that
has escaped them is that there is no test for pot-impaired driving. No
matter how many roadside tests they perform, none of them are valid.

The police chiefs need to be told that they do not decide what the
laws of this country are. They simply enforce them.

Jeff Magee

Victoria
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MAP posted-by: Matt