Editor, the Gauntlet,
The main reason marijuana is still illegal is because the police want it that way [“Marijuana legalization at the public library,” Ændrew Rininsland, March 5]. Marijuana prohibition offers police all the leverage they need to harass the young, the poor, people of colour and people with non-regulation haircuts.
They worry that ending prohibition would reduce crime and therefore reduce their powers and budgets. Marijuana prohibition is as much a cash cow for police as it is for gangsters and they will not let it go without a fight. Which raises some questions, like, “Why are we still listening to cops when the War On Plants has been such a dismal failure?” and, “If prohibition is such a great policy, why can’t the police show any evidence to support that?”