Pubdate: 20 Aug 1999
Source: Nunatsiaq News (Canada)
Copyright: 1999 Nortext Publishing Corporation
Contact:  Box 8, Iqaluit, NT XOA OHO Canada
Fax: (867) 979-4763
Website: http://www.nunatsiaq.com/
Forum: http://www.nunanet.com/politics/index.html
Author: Pat Dolan

THEATER OF THE ABSURD

Your story "No Pot Luck For Rankin Inlet Man" (8/13/99) raised a
couple of troubling questions.

When are we going to hand over responsibility for such matters to the
native communities? When are we going to end this senseless
squandering of police resources?

In 1997, (R. v Clay), Ontario Justice John McCart ruled, "Cannabis is
not an addictive substance; does not cause a motivational syndrome;
and health related costs of cannabis use are negligible when compared
to the costs attributable to tobacco and alcohol consumption." His
findings were confirmed by B.C. Justice F.E. Howard in a similar case
in 1998.

Sgt. Mark Henniker may one day discover he has been unwittingly
playing a lead role in a scenario fit only for a Theater of the Absurd.

Pat Dolan
Vancouver B.C.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake