The question has been asked, "Cigarettes are legal so why isn't pot?"

Well it didn’t take long to get some response, and further thoughts, from yesterday’s blog story … The prohibition of cannabis … “is it worth it – or can we do better by trying something else?”  Again these are just a sample of what came in, but it is a fair representation of all comments that have been made …

Cigarettes are legal so why isn't pot?

"You can't legislate morality. Look at drugs. To stop the drug issue … stop buying drugs. Keep it simple. The only person I can change is me."

A response was quick to arrive to that:
The notion that "you can't legislate morality" is philosophically untenable.   All legislation is a reflection of a certain moral code.  

When we set special speed limits in school zones, we do so based on some kind of moral presupposition about the intrinsic value of children - a moral judgement.  When we pass regulations to protect the environment, there is an inherent sense that this is the "right" thing to do ... and that sense of "right" is, at root, a "moral judgement."

When we prohibit murder, it's a reflection of a moral presupposition about the value of human life.

I could go on, but laws are based in collective sociological "morality". The real question is ... "WHOSE morals are we going to legislate?"

"The prohibition of cannabis has failed, just as the prohibition of alcohol did years ago. However, prohibiting cannabis does effectively support organized crime and all the problems that come along with it. I think our current policies regarding cannabis have been an abysmal failure for years, and yet we continue to approach it the same way. I personally want to learn from this mistake. In order find new solutions to the situation we find ourselves in with our current policies."

“Here's my take on it. Legalize it and control it. That way, maybe my 17-year-old who is still using the damn stuff (I never have) and whose psychiatrist has told him to stop because it can make his mental-health issues worse might not be able to get it so easily. Not saying it would stop but make it harder because this kid, in particular, always goes with the easiest way right now as he struggles with his mental- and physical-health issues. And I have no credibility in this battle with him because I never did any of that stuff ever.”

As long as tobacco and alcohol are on the shelves it makes no sense. Does this mean I think that tobacco and Alcohol should be banned? Certainly not... It is up to the individual to decide what goes in there body. The government should only punish what comes out, based on the effect that it has on others around them. Overall they are doing a good job with that in regards to alcohol and tobacco and the same can be done for pot.

I think Pot should be decriminalized simply because there are too many people smoking it, and like vagrancy laws went out with the hippies, so should this prohibition.

It's sad that young people are branded with the stigma of a criminal record when maybe their teacher is smoking pot in his/her car. Personally, I don't like the smell of pot but if others want to light up (not inside my home), go ahead. I won't judge them.  

When people say pot will lead to heavier drugs I ask them; "why didn't cigarettes lead to pot then?"  Take the profit from the drug traffickers and tax and regulate pot. 

Cigarettes are highly addictive. I still struggle with the addiction but have not had lit one up since June 1st. Cigarettes are legal so why isn't pot? In our lifetime we've all had smoking friends but very few of them ever smoked pot on a regular basis. We can't brand our kids for doing what many teachers do themselves.

“Food for thought … if you were to survey the average recreational pot user, you would find that, they are not putting up much of a fight at this point to legalize. The reason is that they are afraid that once the government gets involved with making pot or regulates it, the quality that they are used to would drop considerably.”

Food for thought for sure, and again on a topic that will come up over and over again until both federal and provincial governments ask for, and seek, our opinions more often.  The doors not closed yet on this discussion, so feel free to add your thoughts; I’d be delighted to hear what you have to think.

By the way, just before I wrap this up today, I had posted the following comment on my Facebook page early last night; it had an almost immediate response:

Me:  This has been an interesting exercise ... there have been some very interesting comments made, and what is surprising me is they are mainly coming from small 'c' conservatives. I would bet this would surprise a lot of people.

Response:  Alan I remember once being pulled over by a cop who reeked of pot.  There are a lot of Conservatives who smoke pot.  There are a lot of Liberals who don't smoke pot. But people in all professions and walks in life do smoke it recreationally.  I think those who don't smoke pot make it a moral issue with the attitude of "I'm gooder or better than them that do". If I did like pot I would smoke it.

That’s all for now.  I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops; with the thoughts of one conservative … and some from a few other folks as well.