Hello

I have seen a steady increase in what I will call American emulation bills recently coming from the upper echelons of our so called representative government. (keep in mind that not even half of the electorate in BC could be bothered to turn off there mind wash devices to turn out for the past provincial election)

The most recent bill coming to mind being Bill C-15 that would establish mandatory jail sentences for drug related charges. I believe it a wise choice to be taking steps to reduce drug related crime but I am having some hang ups on some of the results of this short sighted "goals" being set by this bill. We have to look no farther then our neighbors to the south to really digest some of the appalling results of a bill crafted to turn the people who use drugs (for whatever reason) or profiteers of drug money into caged animals.

I want to look at who would actually be receiving the honour of being caged on my bill paying into the pockets of a private profiteer as a result of Bill C-15. In the United States where laws of mandatory sentances for drug related crime are allready firmly established with incarceration rates and numbers of private prisons soaring as a result. The people who are actually recieving the sentances are addicts, low level drug dealers, and a huge porportion of the people being there as a result of a marijuana related charges.

With the giant explosion of people having to be caged, a correlated explosion of prisons having to be constructed results. Expensive to build, more expensive to maintain, Eye-sores. I feel it prudent to point out that these future "cages" will most definitely become privatized. Mull this over, More prisoners; therefore equals, more money. This deeply disturbs me as I hope it has you, this means its now in someones interest to increase and maintain a body of bodies in cages. Pleas keep this in mind.

Whether its some hippie growing the biggest un-utilized cash crop in exicestence or some dopey stoner makeing sense of it all, or drug dealers exploiting the un regulated control of a substances including allowing them to target our communities’ youth while exposing them to harder drugs for their profit. I believe marijuana prohibition laws in Canada are in need of immediate reconsideration. To see the disastourous results of these laws we need look no further then the results of the previous prohibition laws enacted against alcohol in Prince Edward Island from 1900 to 1948 as well as for shorter amounts of time in other parts of Canada and in the United States from 1920 to 1933. Lets observe the fact they both had to end for reasons including the giant floursish of organized crime resulting from the oppurtunity presented by an unregulated substance that the communtiy wanted and enjoyed, to the disregard it gave the general community towards the authority of law.

When I read that the national expenditure spent on combating drug realated crime in Canada is in the neighborhood of 500 million dollars and of it 400 million was spent on marijuana related charges I scoffed in disgust. This means only 100 million of it was being utilized for the enforcment of other drug related laws inculding those against cocaine, herion, roofies aka the “date rape” drug, and crystal meth. Keep in mind that the 500 million dollars of government funds came from the tax payers, us, the great “un caged” people of Canada.

I would much rather read about my countrys sudden 400 million surplus to use in expenditures on health care, education, community infrastructure, and job growth incetatives as a result of a reversal in choice on the stance on marijuana than what I have read in the paper today regarding bill C-15 and its goal. Instead of combating drug related crime by threat of mandatory jail sentancing, lets set our sights a little farther into the future and make some changes to Canada that would result in a stronger people with laws that reflect reality and respect the community. Lets try to remedy and foster a society that is more constructive in its use of the law to craft a better answer then to imprison its people.