"tied to organized crime in the Vancouver region"....also known as a damn fine way to end up dead!

Legalize it, get taxes.

i dont use it--- but i agree with acrider

ya why not its a losing battle anyways and if they regulate it like liquor and if people just did it in there homes or at special pubs it wouldn't bother me none and i don't even smoke weed either.then the rcmp can spend more time dealing with rapists and real crimes out there.oh i forgot wearing your seatbelt is a considered top priority by icbc and the rcmp these days

Tell me if this makes sense. Legalize marijuana and prostitution - decrease organized crime and increase revenue?!! Sounds good to me.

The step of legalization would have little effect on the amount of use. It might still be technically against the law to possess pot but it is pretty rare to get busted for it unless the RCMP were wanting to bust you in the first place (anyone watch cops or to serve and prtect?). Like the gun laws the possession laws are a tool, rather than an end. However, any step to legalize would have serious repercussions politically. Our american neighbours would increase border security and illegal gangs and such would thrive here as they used us as a base for traffic into the US (even more than they do now).
Here is the question: Do we really think legalizing pot will cripple criminal organizations or will we have to legalize every vice we currently prohibit? WHile i am generally not against legallization, as a father I find i already have enough to worry about without adding cornerstore weed to the list.

just say your kid does decide to smoke weed would you rather he bought it at a store or at some drug house on oak street?

Well obviously the former, however, as a kid who used to smoke dope i can tell you that it's illegality was part of the reason I never saw it as a good thing to do. Perhaps not enough to ensure ones kid doesn't smoke pot, but definately a contributing factor in convincing some people smoking a lot of pot isnt really a good idea. We dont have large problem with pot heads like we do with alcoholics but the potential is definately there.
I havent actually given up on the idea that my kids are going to be smarter than i was. So far so good, though the bar hasnt actually been set all that high.

One thing I do know is that prostitution and dope smoking will never end. So why not find a way to reduce the risk and harm and benefit from the revenue. Why not, instead of spending endless tax payers dollars on policing and court time. The health and social consequences to drinking and smoking cigarettes is horrendous. As a mother and non dope smoker I`d prefer our dollars more effectively spent on going after the big time criminals who in my mind are not prostiutes, johns or dope dealers.

Dream on... legalization won't happen in our lifetimes, but if it did, it would introduce a bunch of new problems. Is there a breathalyzer (or some other easy test) that detects dope? If a cop pulled a guy over suspecting that he's smoked up, how would he definitively be able to prove it? And saying that you can't detect other types of drugs (outside of drawing blood) isn't an answer.

And besides, the government wouldn't make much money on legalized dope. People would grow it and sell it... probably cheaper than the government could sell it for.

I hope they never legalize pot.... personally i believe it is a gateway drug, and at the very least it affects a persons motivation.....i live in the downtown east side of vancouver and i work with addicts on a daily basis. i know first-hand the effects it has and the entrapment it causes. I used to believe in abstinence as the only solution, however my beliefs have changed somewhat.... i do think there is a case or harm-reduction, but only for a select few....

Watch this it will open your mind. And will tell you as to why Marijuana will not be legalized in our lifetime. Too much money is being made to shut this operation down. And money is what makes the world go around.
http://documentaryheaven.com/the-union-the-business-behind-getting-high/

Watch this it will open your mind. And will tell you as to why Marijuana will not be legalized in our lifetime. Too much money is being made to shut this operation down. And money is what makes the world go around.
http://documentaryheaven.com/the-union-the-business-behind-getting-high/

who knew what hemp really withheld. well worth the watch thanks deadbug.