Canadians on Health Care and the "Drug War"

These are the Canadians (attitudes) that I know. BTW: Don't any of my friends worry about me, and my health care choices. I'm going to court on the 4th of August, in an attempt to exercise my "choices," and see if the Judge agrees that a monthly 67% (of my monthly income) deductible is reasonable. The Canadian model looks pretty damned good to me right now! But being a "good" Republican, I'll vote to destroy my long term health, for my principles. The country is better off without all of us "free loaders" anyways.

Deahttp://www.coloradodaily.com/news/2009/jul/26/legalize-marijuana-pot-colorado-republican-moms/

Dear Jessica,

I am a moderate Canadian conservative who has always been fascinated with American politics. Voices like your own will save the American Republican Party. At the moment, the majority of the political discourse in your country and mine is comprised of useless insults and stale talking points. When it comes to universal health care, you have the Democratic Party preaching as if it would create an instant utopia and that everyone will happily pay higher taxes and the Republicans proclaiming that it will be the end of America as we know it. Neither side illuminates us on how they propose to change things for the better, and why they believe that it will work. Federally funded universal health care would be a travesty for America. The reason why the Canadian system was able to work was because it was up to each province to adopt. Saskatchewan was the first to switch from private to public under Tommy Douglas, and every doctor in the province went on strike in protest. However, the medical tourism boom that the province experienced allowed them to raise the doctor's pay to a level that most everyone was happy with, and eventually the system spread across the nation. Allow individual states to hold referendums to see if they want a change, and have public debates detailing the facts of the issues, not simply emotional outbursts, and eventually logic will win out.

When it comes to legalized marijuana, the biggest blockade is the privatized prison system. They are a powerful lobby, and we are experiencing it in Canada. We have gone from complete decriminalization to mandatory minimum six month sentences over the course of eight years, and our prison system is being opened up to private concerns who receive more federal funding if they receive more prisoners. The positives of legalized marijuana would clearly outweigh the negatives.

Marijuana is a gateway drug, and I have seen many of my friends head down a terrible path due to their enjoyment of it. However, it is not the drug itself, but the environment in which the users have to enter to receive it. As marijuana is illegal, you have to be around the criminal element to get your hands on it. This means going to a bad part of town and being in a house where people doing and selling all types of drugs are congregating. Just like under alcohol prohibition, where you were branded a criminal, if a person if forced by the government to be around the criminal element to purchase a product then they are more likely to be surrounded by wanton violence and other illegal activities.

The biggest cash crop in the nation, and no taxes are received from its sale. Bigger than tobacco, which produces millions of dollars in tax revenues every year. Take that money out of the hands of the criminal element. People tend to argue that even if marijuana was legal illegal growers and dealers would still operate. That may be true, but it is equally true that if I wanted to I could buy my alcohol from a bootlegger or buy illegally grown tobacco. The fact of the matter is that if I were able to purchase it from a store, why would I risk my own freedom to purchase off of an illegal seller?

The war on drugs, as it stands, simply isn't working. The Mexican authorities are not holding up thier end of the bargain, and as such there is open warfare in the border towns. If there was no North American market for the stuff, then there would be less violence. Certainly, there would still be gangs operating and trying to smuggle in other drugs, but marijuana is their biggest seller as well. It would be like stopping Foot Locker from selling Nike shoes. They would remain in business, but their profits would be drastically undercut and their ambitions thwarted.

I've rambled a bit here, I know, but that is because I think it is so great to see smart, progressive conservative minds like yourself espousing reasonable solutions to certain problems in society. Your wonderful article here is clearly not scripted or filtered by the mainstream press, and it certainly isn't nearly as fundamentalist as so much of current North American political discourse is nowadays. Congratulations once again, and keep fighting for the safety and freedom of future generations.