Ashley Vallance, Windsor Star
As of May 10, for the first time in my life, I am saddened to say that I am ashamed of my country. Marc Emery has been extradited to the United States, the order being signed by Justice Minister Rob Nicholson. His crime; selling marijuana seeds over the Internet. It was a "crime" committed in Canada that usually holds about a $2,000 fine. Now Marc faces five years in a U.S. prison instead of a slap on the wrist as it should be here in Canada. When will people realize the war on drugs has created nothing but just that — a war. We have made criminals out of innocent people and we have given a harmless herb a bad name, and what a shame considering its endless list of medicinal and constructional uses. Prohibition did not work for alcohol, it will not work for marijuana.
A substance that is far less harmful than cigarettes and alcohol. I hope to see a day where marijuana is taken from the hands of children and left readily available to all adult citizens who wish to sustain a normal healthy life with ganja by their side.
Ashley Vallance,
Tecumseh