Editorial Source: Detroit Free Press The Bush administration should stop threatening the Canadian government about its plan to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. The Canadians have introduced legislation that would essentially treat most pot smokers like people with misdemeanor traffic tickets. At the same time, the bill would increase penalties for illegal growers and traffickers, and launch a national education campaign on the dangers of drug use. The Bush administration has criticized the plan and hinted it could make getting Canadian goods into the United States more difficult. This heavy-handed approach has bugged many Canadians. First they were too soft on Saddam Hussein. Now they're too soft on bud. U.S. officials worry that relaxed Canadian drug laws would lead to more smuggling and more people crossing the border to smoke marijuana. Maybe, maybe not. It's plenty easy to buy and smoke pot here, even though the drug is illegal. As for increased smuggling, Canadian officials argue that police will now have more resources to go after large growers to reduce trafficking. They could easily complain about the drugs flowing their way from the United States. If U.S. officials feel they have to step up enforcement at the border, which has already tightened since 9/11, so be it. But Canada is a sovereign nation and should be treated as such. Imagine the reaction if another country tried to influence U.S. drug policies. Canada has been a good neighbor and a vital, billion-dollar-a-day trading partner, as people in Michigan well know. There's no reason to jeopardize that relationship over a policy that only Canada can set for itself. Note: U.S. should butt out of Canada's marijuana laws. Source: Detroit Free Press (MI) Published: May 30, 2003 Copyright: 2003 Detroit Free Press Contact: letters@freepress.com Website: http://www.freep.com/
Nice to see somebody at the Detroit Free Press speaking their mind about this matter. I live in the suburbs of Detroit, and it's so easy to get bud without help from any Canadians. The Bush administration needs to shut their damn trap about the Canadians and their freedom to decriminalize. I would be very disappointed in Bush if security is 'stepped up' at the US-Canadian border just because of the decriminlization of marijuana. Too many of our tax dollars being wasted on something so trivial as this really pisses me off.....
I just got a strange thought... It really escapes me.... how anyone could be so against weed, as trivial and un-threatening as it is... So.. what I was thinking, is what if there is something the US knows about weed that we don't? Like, something bad? Like.. if it became legal throughout the world then the skies would open and the Apocalypse would rain down upon us. or.. not... *d9 thuds to the ground as someone clubs him over the head for talking such nonsense*
too soft eh? next time amerika acuses some nation of such, they should just turn around and say "well we are not going to take a soft stance on this political bullying we have to endure from you. Here we take a stand. You want to empose trade sanctions because we wish to act democratically and give the people the freedoms they want? so be it. we don't give a shit anymore. go F*ck yourself!"