Free Republic

A few years ago I asked an Alaska State Trooper, “If you had a choice of either having alcohol or marijuana legal which one would you pick?” Without hesitation he said, “Oh, marijuana! People who drink get drunk, get in their cars, drive fast, go home and beat up their families. People, who smoke marijuana get stoned, get in their cars, drive slowly, go home and eat and play with the kids.” It’s always amazed me that alcohol and tobacco, two of the most insidious drugs available, are accepted by the government, while a relatively benign drug like marijuana is...

WASHINGTON — An annual White House report on countries with drug problems says Canada's relatively lax penalties for marijuana producers and moves toward decriminalizing pot could be an ``invitation" to organized crime that hinders police and prosecutors. Canada isn't on the president's list of 22 major illicit drug-producing and transit countries, which includes Mexico and some South American countries that supply the vast majority of drugs to the United States. But the report cited Canada's "lack of significant judicial sanctions against marijuana producers" and marijuana reform legislation as troublesome. "We are now working intensively with Canadian authorities to address the...