HTTP/1.0 200 OK Content-Type: text/html Reefer Madness Prevails 
Pubdate: Fri, 30 Jan 2004
Source: Chilliwack Times (CN BC)
Copyright: 2004 Chilliwack Times
Contact:  http://www.chilliwacktimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1357

REEFER MADNESS PREVAILS

The city's public safety advisory committee's "victim impact statement" is 
a nice gesture, but misguided and a little naive.

The committee has drafted a 1,200 word victim impact statement for the 
whole city that can be read whenever a convicted marijuana grower is being 
sentenced. Their aim is for the sentencing judge to hear about the high 
cost of grow ops and the affect they have on taxpayers. The committee hopes 
the sentencing judge will hand down a lengthier term of incarceration.

Fat chance.

We agree the proliferation of grow ops in this city has become a problem. 
The corresponding crime that accompanies grow ops, the fire hazards, the 
environmental degradation and the costs to landlords and taxpayers are all 
real. But the reality is that those who work in the weed industry simply 
don't care what the penalties are-the reward of a successful grow op is 
well worth the time or fine they could receive.

It's the cost of doing business. They know it, the cops know it, yet city 
hall is apparently misguided enough to believe that a piece of paper read 
before a sentencing judge is an effective way to combat the problem.

The growing sentiment in this country is that decriminalization of 
marijuana is the right path to start down in dealing with this illegal and 
booming industry. While some may feel it's an admission of defeat, most are 
starting to see the writing on the wall-the real reefer madness is our 
continued method of fighting a war we simply can't win.

While the RCMP's grow op task force continues to receive weekly ink in the 
local newspapers for taking down one grow op after the other, they aren't 
make a dent in the overall scene. More cops, more busts, more grow ops to 
replace the fallen few.

The current program isn't working and the only ones that can see that are 
the pot growers themselves...and that's just sad.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom