Pubdate: Fri, 06 Jul 2001 Source: Kitchener-Waterloo Record (CN ON) Copyright: 2001 Kitchener-Waterloo Record Contact: http://www.therecord.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/225 Author: Brenda Beatty Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) LIGHTEN UP ON POT I am absolutely appalled by the Waterloo regional police's misguided attempts to serve and protect our community from the dangers of our world. I am unappreciative of the region's policy on marijuana arrests. We cannot expunge all evil by arresting our residents for marijuana cultivation. Marijuana is not what ails society, and I am waiting patiently and fighting diligently for our federal government to recognize this and eliminate its prohibition from our laws. Considering the prolonged fiscal crisis in which we find our community, I find it alarming that the region is still determined to arrest and prosecute people for marijuana-related charges. Publicizing these high-profile arrests as heroic deeds merely creates an irrational fear around this issue. It is time for police to realize that their diligent efforts are unnecessary in a legal climate that prefers to put harmful people like murderers and robbers behind bars, leaving the mellower agents in our community free. Brenda Beatty Waterloo - --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe