Dear Editor:
RE: Cannabis quandary, Jan. 31.
I would like to indicate my support for and my agreement with the editorial by Chris Daponte.
I found it a calm and measured response to the total disregard of the expressed will of constituents in Centre Wellington by our elected representatives. I believe he scored a bullseye. These politicians may have problems with the legalization of this product, however as politicians they are morally obliged to advance the wishes of the population, not to use their pulpit to promote their privately held views. A basic tenant of democracy, I would think.
I can’t help but feel that the position they took has more to do with their chances of being elected than anything; a feeling not diminished by the wishy-washy comments made by the candidates during the election process.
The letters printed regarding the editorial miss the point by a country mile. In response to Pat Woode (Morally sound, Feb. 7), we do not elect these people to do whatever they wish, we elect them to carry out our wishes.
Michael Thorp (Editorial off base, Feb. 7) has written an argument that conflates a marijuana store with retirement savings and I confess that I cannot grasp whatever point he tries to make. But the title of the letter leads one to presume he has some objection to the editorial, and he also would deny the wishes of the constituents.
The point of the legalization of this drug is, in part, to allow control of access to this product. By denying the possibility of a local outlet, they have played into the hands of black marketers who sell to whoever has the money – no checking ID, no safeguard on age restrictions. This plays into the hands of drug dealers who can easily move into our town from more enlightened jurisdictions.
Reduced court time, jail time, police time are likely to result in substantial savings, as well as freeing police to attend to other important matters. Cutting off the legs of the gangs controlling the market is also a stated goal. The possibility of tax and local business boosting and jobs for locals is also in the mix, as expressed by Mr. Ford.
In short the position taken by our representatives, councillor Kirk McElwain excepted, is easy to see as craven political pandering to a moral agenda that wishes to impose their positions on the entire population. These misguided actions disregard voters’ wishes, play into the hands of criminals, put our population in danger and effectively negate the purpose of the legislation allowing for the legal sale of marijuana. It is this that I will remember next election, and I hope the rest of the constituents will also.
Richard Wardell,
Elora