Loaded for bear

Contributed by Dr. Ian Williams

"Earlier this month, bear hunters in Oregon stumbled on what turned out to be the largest marijuana plantation that state has ever seized, by far - more than 91,000 marijuana plants growing in a remote canyon in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, that's in the northeastern corner of the state. Six armed growers were arrested. Police removed or destroyed the pot plants."

This was the lead in to a story reported by NPR earlier this week. The reporter interviewed the wildlife officer responsible for the clean up. The tone used by both participants in the interview was as if a stock pile of depleted uranium had been found. Environmental insults such as fertilizer and compacted ground were spoken of in language typically reserved for mass murder or genocide. The park ranger reserved his most strident condemnation for the fact that his team would have to remove the sleeping bags and cooking utensils used by the pot growers 

Two important points were never discussed. Firstly, this situation resulted solely because of  the US's medieval criminalization of marijuana, a drug which is much less harmful than tobacco or alcohol and legal in many developed countries. Secondly, no mention was made of the environmental havoc wrought by people tramping into the wilderness to shoot bears. The damage to the ecosystem caused by killing these large herbivores is enormous and yet the story suggested that these hunters were society's saviors for uncovering this festering den of pollution and corruption.

The US could save millions of dollars instantly by legalizing cannabis. It could also deprive organized crime of an important source of income and free up many customs and law enforcement officers to tackle violent crime.

Oh well, in the meantime I'll savor my scotch and cigar while I keep my gun loaded for bear.